All Alone
by Rakki-Gesakusha
Summary: Hiei feels alone, Kurama and Yusuke are together, and his sister is leaving him. Plus he is having strange dreams. Who, then, can the Jaganshi turn to? Yaoi, KuwabaraHiei and KuramaYusuke Chap. 6 up!
1. All Alone

Hey all! It's me again! Yeah. This was originally a fic I was doing for an arc on I decided to move it here though as well, because the first story has no lemon or really anything bad in it. Except yaoi, which if you dun like that, scoot.

Disclaimer;; If I owned these characters, I seriously wouldn't be writing this, I'd be making many yaoi moments between our beloved members of Yu Yu. -sigh-

Warnings;; Yaoi, HieiKuwa pairing, YusKurama pairing. Ahm...a little swearing I believe, and I think that might be it.

Well...anyway, onto the story!

**Chapter 1; All Alone  
By;; Rakki-Gesakusha**

Hiei's eyes felt heavy even though he knew they shouldn't feel so. He knew that he had been sleeping for a very long time. Blinking them open, he was instantly greeted by the flashing light of bright sunlight. How late, exactly, had he slept? His crimson eyes wandered about the room landing on a clock that he had somehow known was there. The red numbers read back to him an electronic; 11:30. Even as his eyes landed upon the clock the zero upon it switched from a 0 to a 1 making it 11:31. Shifting lazily, the red eyes slid close as he rested some more.

In a hazy remembrance, he felt the shifting of a large body behind him, and a face snuffled against his hair. "Good morning Hotaru" It whispered in a deep tone, small pieces of Hiei's hair stirred slightly as the breath blew by it on the escape trip from the speakers mouth. Hiei, though he couldn't name who this person was, knew him. He had been with him for a while, and the voice sounded very familiar but he couldn't place it with a face. This didn't bother him though, for he simply nodded and mumbled a morning back to the other as he felt a strong arm slip around his thin waist and pull him even closer. "Did you sleep well?" The voice then questioned and Hiei nodded his head. "Good." It whispered, the breath now caressing the cheek as the male bent his head to leave soft kisses upon Hiei's shoulder.

This felt familiar...who was this male? Why did this feel so familiar? He knew and yet he didn't. Closing his red eyes he left the other to kiss at his neck while he thought about who this, possibly, could be. "What is wrong, my love?" The voice posed the question, pulling back from the kisses he had been littering along the fire boys shoulder and soft neck.

That single word echoed in Hiei's mind...Love...Love...Who was this person? Who was this male who loved him? "I don't even remember who you are..." Hiei's voice returned, not breaking the whispers that the one who apparently loved him had been speaking in naught but moments before.

The voice released a chuckle that made a shiver run up and down Hiei's spine. It wasn't disturbing or anything...just one that he most definitely recognized but, again, couldn't place. "You know who I am, Hiei." The voice responded. Silence filled the room as Hiei worked to think of this. Who was he? He wanted to know. He HAD to know. It was a question that wouldn't stop until he knew. This love...it was addicting. He wanted to know who it was. Turning Hiei's face ever so slightly, the others face bore down into his. Slowly the features came into view. "Hiei...It's me, -"

He then woke up.

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Bright sunlight filled his eyes for the second time as his eyes opened to peek out at the new day. With a groan, Hiei pushed himself up more into a much better position, leaning against the trunk of a tree. He had become so accustomed to sleeping in a bed or on a couch, but he couldn't anymore. Recently, Yusuke and Kurama have found out their love for each other, and now he was stuck sleeping, once more, in the trees.

On top of this, his clothing was rather wet now for it had rained last night. He had found comfort and warmth as best as he could in the tree, but he was still rather damp from the rain. Luckily he could easy change this by simply raising his body temperature and drying his clothes. Had his body actually been wet, he would have been helpless. He couldn't call forth a flame if he was wet.

He now had a slight migraine, caused by the bright sunlight shining right into his eyes. Though his mind was still clear enough for him to curse himself for waking up. He gave a quick search with his ki to try and find what could have possibly woken him up. He found nothing. He growled to himself. He had almost figured out who it was that he was having those dreams about, but he had just failed, again. Every time he got close to figuring it out, something woke him up.

This had been the closest of all the times, about a weeks worth of dreams or so, and he had been having this dream every night. Almost the second he closed his eyes, he was transported to the dream world of this male who claimed to love him. He didn't know who it could possibly be. It could be four males that he knew of...Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara, or KoEnma. It couldn't be the first two because they were together, and so neither one could have loved him, and the last two both hated him. KoEnma had always wished that Hiei hadn't accepted the agreement to go and join the team so he could have locked him up in jail. As for Kuwabara...well...he couldn't do anything around the other without him giving some sort of comment about how much he bugged him.

So he was stuck. He didn't know any others that could POSSIABLY be in the dream. He had thought about it a lot, and he had at one point decided that it was Kitsune, but it couldn't be. Kurama loved Yusuke, Kurama had told him countless times in the talks he had with him, which was mostly Kurama talking anyway. Then he thought that perhaps it was Yusuke? Nope. The Spiritual Detective eventually told Hiei, right before he got together with the Kitsune actually, that he had liked Kurama for a long time. When he had said this, Hiei had given him an odd look that plainly asked why he would care. But Yusuke must have been trying to see if Kurama and him were together for when he got that look, he grinned and walked away, leaving a very confused Hiei. That night, Kurama had told him that Yusuke had come over and admitted his feelings. As far as the other two...well...he hadn't even TRIED those. But he had an idea that KoEnma had a thing for Botan. Call it a feeling.

As far as Kuwabara, well Yukina had dumped him for another demon that she had met. At first Hiei had been happy that she was going to be with a demon that could actually protect her. But then he realized that she, like Kurama, was now lost even more to him. Not only could he not tell her about their relationship, he couldn't just randomly stop by and speak to her for she was currently working out her relationship. Not only that, but she would be giving birth to her first child through immaculate means. This was a big deal, and Hiei didn't want to ship any of his problems onto her shoulders. As for Kurama, well...he was just to busy in his feelings and expressions of said feelings for Yusuke. It was to much of a pain to try and explain his feelings in front of the other while he was either drooling over a picture of Yusuke, or a memory, or the actual male. Hiei didn't want Yusuke to know so much of his feelings.

So now he just kind of remained silent. Everything was stored inside like it used to be when he was alone. Though now that he had been able, at one point, to tell someone of his problems, it was so much harder to hide them. But he had somehow managed to do so.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by one rather loud, and unerringly chipper, grim reaper. "Good morning Hiei!" She chirped seemingly appearing out of no where, and damn near making Hiei crash to the earth below. At least she hadn't used that blasted whistle. But either way, her rather bothersome entrance earned her a glare. She just gave him a grin and said, "KoEnma has a mission for you and the others. They are already on their way. None of them could find you." She told him. With a nod, he told her he would be there in a little bit.

He had disappeared in a displacement of air before the other could offer him a ride. That thing always made him uneasy. Sure he could jump from tree to tree, or run along tree branches quicker then the speed of light or whatever, but it was STILL unnatural to fly between worlds and he wanted to be no part of it. As far as what she had said, he doubted whether any of the others had truly looked. Kurama could have easily found him, but he wasn't sure the red head would leave Yusuke yet long enough to come and find him and vice versa for Yusuke. Don't even start on Kuwabara.

xXxXxXxXxXx KoEnma's Office xXxXxXxXxXx

Hiei stepped into the room, and the eyes of three people turned to look at him for a moment, before they turned back to the Demi-God. "Nice of you to join us, Hiei." KoEnma began getting an appropiate 'hn' from Hiei. Yusuke and Kurama's chairs had been moved closer, and one of them had boldly taken the others hand in their own, entwining their fingers. Kuwabara glanced at them for a moment before his eyes rolled and he turned back to the other. Hiei moved forward, stopping to stand besides Kuwabara chair, though he was a respectful distance...ok more then that but far enough away that the other wouldn't get annoyed.

"Ok, there is currently a demon terrorizing the northern part of demon world. We don't know very much about it-" When did they ever? "-but we do know that it is a S-class, and it has a lot of lower class demons fighting beneath it." The others nodded their heads in understanding as KoEnma continued. "The lower class demons should be easy to kill, but this demon...he is strong and won't fall easy. You must kill him. It is to risky keeping him alive." KoEnma explained. "The portal will take you about three miles from the others territory. From there you will be on your own." He explained.

They glanced about at each other, none seeming to concerned about this. They had taken our S-class demons before. They could do so now. "Is there anything particular that makes this demon so...horrible?" Yusuke piped up, Kurama and Kuwabara nodding their heads in agreement to this question.

"He Sucrets a poison on every attack, and it only causes even more pain and injury when it hurts you. Not only this, but he can supposedly multiply himself. There is no doubt that you each will end up fighting one of him." He explained.

Yusuke smiled slightly, "Good...we'll each get something to do this time." He exclaimed. Kuwabara backed him up with a laugh. Apparently he agreed with this. But even Hiei gave a nod of agreement, though his own feelings weren't seen.

"What if one of us gets hurt or needs assistance?" Their red headed companion pointed out, looking specifically to Yusuke at this point. Apparently he was most worried about Yusuke getting hurt, but Kuwabara and Hiei got their fair share of wounds as well.

Hiei gave his own opinion on this comment before Yusuke could reassure Kurama though. His response went along the lines of a snort and a mutter of, "Only the idiot would need to be worried about that."

This, in turn, caused Kuwabara to glare at his shorter partner and give an annoyed retort of, "You won't be saying that when I, The Great Kazuma Kuwabara, has to rescue you, shorty." The last word wasn't needed, for just the point that Hiei would even NEED Kuwabaras help had Hiei going over the edge. Never would he ask Kuwabara for help!

With a growl, Hiei opened his mouth to give a retort, but he was silenced by the red headed fox-turned-human. "You two...-" He gave an appropiate sigh here. "-...Now is not the time. We need to get ready to go." He looked between the two of them, giving a look that stopped just short of a motherly 'Play Nice Children.' Honestly, his role half the time seemed more like that of a mother stopping squabbles among these two then as a teammate. To make things even worse, he knew deep down each of them respected the other.

Hiei, who had beaten down so many times, could respect anyone who didn't let it get them down. So many times Kuwabara had been defeated by humans and demons alike, and he bounced back every time. He came at every single fight the same, as if he hadn't learned a single thing. But this, too, was wrong for he grew stronger after each fight. All of them had noticed this. Yes, Kuwabara knew that he was the weakest of the team members, and even this didn't bother him. The other three were demons, well...Yusuke was only half, but he still had demonic blood in him. Kuwabara was a pure human. But as a human, he was almost scarily strong. This was what had impressed Hiei and gave him a deep respect of the other.

As for Kuwabara, he respected Hiei's strength, of course, but he also respected the fact that he didn't let anything someone else said get to him. So many people teased him and judged him on his height. Yeah...he did too, but he didn't judge Hiei's strength just on his height. He knew the demon could fry him into ashes without much of a thought. Not only this, but Hiei was looked down upon by almost every demon that he faced for his heritage as a fire koorime...as a forbidden child. Not only this, but despite the fact that Hiei seemed like one apt to deserting his comrades in perilous times, he was almost scarily loyal. He had proved countless times to all of them, even Kuwabara whom he didn't truly like as much as the other two, that he was worthy of their trust by protecting them, or taking a hit that was meant for another. As a fighter he was all business and completely fearless. This was the type of fighter that Kazuma wanted to be. In a way, you could almost call Hiei a type of hero. Even if the shrimps attitude annoyed him more then anything else on the planet. Now...he'd never admit this to Hiei for...the demon would probably laugh at him. Yes...actually laugh. But...he felt a small sense of safety around Hiei. While all the others slept, Hiei remained awake to make sure they weren't attacked, and he was constantly scouting to make sure that they didn't get attacked.

Their respects for one another was buried deep within themselves, and never would they speak of it to the other. But someone as sly as Kurama could figure it out. Even Yusuke knew it, and they both talked about it fairly often, for they knew this and wanted, somehow, to get them to admit it to one another.

However, whether they admitted to one another or not was not really important to KoEnma. He just wanted them to bring back the demons he told them to, and kill the ones he told them too. As long as they did that, he didn't care about their relationship. Only when they stopped doing their job good enough would he interfere. "I think it would be best for the four of you to split up into two teams. Then you may scout the area. Just to get an idea of the surrounding area and to estimate how many demons are around. Alright?" It wasn't really a question, but four heads nod in understanding.

Hiei glanced over to Kurama questioningly, expecting to see a pair of green eyes meet his own and a small nod respond to his unasked question. They worked well together, and so he expected Kurama to partner up with him. Except...the nod never came. Kurama wasn't even looking at him. He had green eyes glued on Yusuke, and once brown ones locked onto his and nodded, a smile slid onto the red heads lips. Hiei's gaze traveled to Kuwabara and a slight frown drifted over his lips. He'd have to work with him? He sighed lightly an annoyed feeling coming over him as he saw the looks that Yusuke and Kurama were giving one another. The looks gave him an almost disgusted feeling. No he wasn't jealous. He and Kurama did not share feelings for one another. At least not the ones that Yusuke and Kurama felt for one another. They had, at one point, thought that they did. But they had discovered it hadn't been what they had thought it was.

Hiei was to unsure and insecure about his feelings and Kurama to in tune with his Youko side to allow him time to wait and figure out his feelings. Kurama couldn't wait, and Hiei didn't like to be held, kissed or anything. He didn't even really like being touched to much by the kitsune. Holding hands was completely out of the question, especially in public. Kurama couldn't stand it, but he wasn't patient enough, at least not in this way, to wait for Hiei to get his feelings and his past sorted out. They had come to a sort of mutual agreement that they were not meant to be together. They had left each other on an agreement that they were more like siblings then anything. At first, yeah it had been awkward. But it wasn't really so much anymore. So no...the fact that Kurama now was with Yusuke didn't bother him at all. At least not as much as the fact that Kurama seemed to be walking away from the fact that they were best friends, almost like siblings. He seemed to be forgetting the fact that they were best friends, and totally forgetting about him when around the other. Even when the other wasn't around, he was all Kurama talked about.

Now Hiei didn't exactly consider himself Kurama's brother or anything. Though he did care a lot for Kurama, and he wanted him to be happy just like he wanted Yukina to be, and he knew that Yusuke would do a great job at not only that but at protecting the red head as well, and that was what mattered to him.

All through the time he is considering if he could possibly survive being with Kuwabara for his partner. He had decided that he could. He didn't have to talk to him, and they would be busy and wouldn't be able to talk unless they wanted someone to swoop down on them and attack or at the very least know they were there.

Before he knew it, they had stepped through the portal, KoEnma giving the last bit of advice before he closed it and they were left on their own. Now it was Yusuke's turn to take charge. Turning to the small group he said, "Now, pacifier breath told us it might be a good idea to split up, so why don't we do this, I'll go with Kurama and Kuwabara, you and Hiei go together." He looked at the two of them, obviously expecting a fight, most likely from Hiei though.

Hiei knew it was coming though and just gave a nod, and a snort. Yusuke seems a bit surprised, at least until he turns to Kuwabara. This time, the human glares at him and demands why he has to go with the shorty. "It's because you two need to learn to get along." He muttered and turned away, ending any further discussion.

"Now...we are going to go towards the North-Eastern area, and you two should head towards the North-Western." He said, indicating the two directions with a point of his finger. "Alright?" He muttered.

Hiei gave another nod, and Kuwabara followed suit with his own uneasy one. "Before dark, meet back here and then we can find some place to camp." He advised them, and without another word, him and Kurama disappeared down their designated path.

With a sigh, Hiei turned and began towards theirs. "Keep up, idiot. I'm not slowing down for you." He warned the other. If Kuwabara got left behind it was his fault...he should have walked faster.

Giving a growl, but bearing in mind that if he just ignored Hiei he would eventually become silent and stop tormenting him Kuwabara fell into line behind Hiei.

For a while his plan worked, and both were silent. But Kuwabara forgot how much he hated the silence. So he eventually had to crack it. "Do you think they've found anyone yet?" He asked referring to their two other teammates.

Crimson eyes glanced sidelong at him. For a while he didn't respond before he shook his head. "Most likely not." He told him. "KoEnma said it would be about three miles, we've walked about two." He murmured in estimation. Kuwabara searched for a hint there that Hiei was insinuating that they were walking slow because of him but found none. "Since they seem to be paying to much attention to one another, I doubt they have walked much farther." He explained and Kuwabara gave a nod of understanding.

There was another short silence as Hiei bent to look at a trail -it was the foot prints of hundreds of demons so there wasn't a single full one so it took a bit- before standing and continuing. "We're getting close." He murmured lightly. Giving a nod Kuwabara asked, "Roughly how many do you think there are?"

"Hmm...about two hundred, probably most of which are of the c-class."

Kuwabara gave a gulp at this number and Hiei gave him a dry smirk. "Don't tell me the great "Kazuma Kuwabara" is scared." The tone was meant to sound diminishing, but it ended up almost teasing.

"'Coarse not!" He cried. "I just wasn't' expecting so many." He explained.

Hiei gave a snort that was meant to mean that he didn't quite believe what Kuwabara was saying. "Between the four of us, we can take them out easy. It's this S-class that we have to worry about. Normally it takes all of us to take out one alone." He murmured lightly.

Kuwabara looked over to him. "Well...I mean..I'm sure we can take him out easy. He's probably not all that strong." This caused Hiei to roll his eyes.

"He's an S-Class...he has to have some sort of strength." Hiei pointed out. Turning to face him he gave a frown. "Yeah..well I-" He was shushed by a glare from Hiei. The little demon had ceased walking. Actually he had ceased moving altogether and he was now sitting and listening to something that Kuwabara couldn't hear. Even when Kuwabara strained, nothing caught his senses.

All the sudden he heard a rustling, and out of no where shot a demon straight at him. "Watch out!" This was Hiei's voice, but it was a little late. He was lucky that Hiei was with him. The demon he just managed to grab him right in time of him being caught right in the chest by the demon's attack. Instead it slid along his arm, leaving nothing more then a scratch.

The both stumbled backwards, nearly falling with the force of which Hiei had pulled Kuwabara away. Neither one fell, though for Kuwabara it was only because Hiei kept him level. Turning his blue eyes, Kuwabaras gaze landed upon a tall demon.

He wasn't that bad looking...Wait! It's a guy...isn't it? Like Kurama, the figure had long hair, except his was thick and instead of being red it was a ebony black coloration and hints of natural browns had made it's way into his hair. His eyes were the clearest of gray only a storm seemed to be brewing in them. It took Kuwabara a few moments before he realized that this demon was speaking, but Kuwabara couldn't make out what he was saying. Only seconds after this, he realized that this demon wasn't looking at him, but his eyes were locked on Hiei's. Whatever he was saying, Hiei must have heard him loud and clear for he was staring right back at him. Though he then noticed something strange...Hiei wasn't blinking at all. He was just staring at him. "Hiei?" Kuwabara mumbled. "Hiei, listen to me." He said a bit louder. He got no response from the demon who was just staring at the other. A small smirk developed on the other demons face.

"Come here, Hiei." It whispered in a voice loud enough for Kazuma to hear him. He was stunned when Hiei stepped away from him and made his way over towards the other. He still wasn't blinking or anything just following the others voice.

For some reason, Kuwabara didn't like this. The fact that Hiei was obeying someone like this. "Hiei!" He cried louder, still being ignored. There was a flash of silver as the demon pulled free his sword.

Here Hiei stopped moving, as if suddenly realizing for a brief moment the danger he had been put in. "Come on, little one." The voice said sweetly, trying to coax Hiei back to him. Slowly at first but quickening his pace, Hiei continued on at the beckoning of the voice. "Good boy." The voice practically purred. It was here that Kuwabara realized what the other was doing.

"Hiei! Watch out!" Kuwabara cried. At the same exact time as Kuwabara running out to grab Hiei, the sword shot forward. Hiei got lucky though. Kuwabara got to him just in time to push him so the sword only cut his side right near his stomach. The cut was deep, but it would most likely heal. Instantly the smell of Hiei's blood filled the air.

Almost moments later, Hiei's annoyed voice filled the air, "You Idiot! What are you doing!" He demanded.

"Saving you, apparently." He snapped, only now realizing that he was laying atop the other. Perhaps that was why Hiei had yelled, his side having been wounded rather badly and he was laying his entire weight on it. Pulling himself up he looked about, and frowned as he realized that whoever that was he was gone. Kuwabara gave a growl now understanding. This demon had been sent to destroy the one that would be the worst opponent in a fight between the two of their groups. Apparently he had decided it would be Hiei,at least between him and Hiei, and he had somehow controlled Hiei's mind to get him to trust him. "Are you alright?" He mumbled, turning back to Hiei.

He supposed not, for Hiei's face was twisted in a grimace of pain and he was holding his side. Seeing the others face Hiei managed to hiss through clenched teeth "It stings."

"It might be a good idea to head back. If my thinking is correct, then Yusuke or Kurama might have been attacked." He murmured lightly. He moved to Hiei's side and asked, "Can you walk?"

Hiei nodded his head, giving a snort. "Of course I can." He mumbled. Pulling himself up he almost managed to stand up, but toppled over almost seconds later. Had it not been for Kuwabaras arm he would have found himself in the dirt. Without looking at Kuwabaras face, Hiei gave a hiss of "No."

"You know, you could thank me for saving you. If it hadn't been for me, that demon would probably have killed you." He mumbled lightly. He was currently sliding his arm around the littler male to help support him as they walked. Once secure in the fact that Hiei wouldn't fall, he pulled the others arm around his neck and, bending over slightly to accommodate such a position, he began the slow walk back.

Hiei was limping, and was giving a hiss of pain with every step. He didn't respond right away, because he didn't want to admit that Kuwabara did deserve a thanks. But, luckily, he didn't have to comment for before Kuwabara could press him even more, his leg gave out and he half collapsed, the only part of his body that remained standing was the part that Kuwabara was holding up. "It's worse then I thought." Hiei muttered, pulling his arm slowly free of Kuwabara, before touching the wound tentatively. The large area where blood had soaked in was a darker coloration then the rest of Hiei's cloak. Already, he had lost a lot. "I'll stay here, go and get Kurama so he can come here." He ordered of the human.

"Hiei...what if the demon comes back?" He questioned. There was no way Hiei could defend himself in this position. Especially not against that demon who could apparently control people.

When no reply came, Kuwabara said, "I'll carry you."

He took a step forward, but stopped when he heard a snarl that turned into a growl come from the little demon. "Don't." He ordered. Hiei watched him with a glare. "I'm not that weak." Kuwabara scowled.

"Can't you just stop that. If I leave you here, you'll die. If we wait for the others, you'll die of blood loss. Just get over it for now Hiei." Without another word, he scooped the little demon up and turned back to head down the trail that they had been walking down almost moments before.

Hiei wasn't at all happy, but he did seem a little relieved and he shifted around in Kuwabaras arms to accommodate his wound. When he was finally done, he had turned to the side, pressing his head against the others chest and keeping his wound to the air. One hand was pressed against it trying to ease the pain. He felt humiliated, but at least they would reach the others sooner, hopefully.

Kuwabara was amazed. He looked down to Hiei in his arms. The red eyes were doing their hardest not to look at him, but he could tell that he was still in pain. But...that wasn't what amazed him. Hiei was so...light. Hiei weighed probably only ninety pounds...and that was when he was soaking wet. It was scary. He could feel the muscles in Hiei's body, but even so he was amazed. This seemed almost scary. It brought up a strange desire in Kuwabara to want to protect him.

Watching the little demon curled up in his arms he couldn't believe that before he had actually thought that Hiei was truly able to care for himself. It seemed as if he shouldn't be able to. Kuwabara wanted to protect him, almost like he was a child even when Hiei was almost three hundred years older then himself or at least around that. But...he was so small and light and surely any real attack would shatter him.

It was like he was made of glass. He was going to protect him. He promised himself, and most of all he promised Hiei. Granted not out loud, but his honor code would keep him to this promise. Hiei wouldn't be hurt if he could help it.

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-uncovers eyes- Did I seriously just write that? Wow... Um..I have NO clue where this came from. I had the idea for a plot like this for a long time, well...actually this was going to be an AU, but I was just thinking about it and wondering what kind of pairing I should make it, and this came. I dun no. -shrugs- Well...yup. There is chapter one. Chapter Two will be up as soon as I get it done.

Yup...I am SO going to get flamed for this. Can't wait.


	2. Mysterys Revealed

Allright! Schools coming, which means days devoted fully to writing er...I mean STUDYING. Mm-hm right. This fic is easily turning out to be my favorite so far, even if I only got a few people to read it so...uhm...YAY to all who like it.

As always thank you to my reviewers. They're the reason I keep up with the story!

**LunarGuardianPhoenix **- Well...I am glad that you like it. Most definitly pleased.

**Cold Toenails** - Well thank you for the offer on the flames, but I think I like compliments better. Though you ARE right. Flames are quite amusing to read.

Annnnnyway, please, please review! They make me want to continue the story.

Disclaimer; I don't own anyone in this story except for the demon that you've never heard of cause...I wanted to own something.-grins- Cool, eh? He even has a NAME. Now I own TWO! . Seikei is also mine.

Warnings; Yaoi, Hieibara pairing, first in an arc. No lemon or any of that fun stuff in this story.

Now on to the fanfiction! I am sooo going to get flamed for this...(sweet)

**Chapter 2; Mysteries Revealed  
Author; Rakki-Gesakusha**

It felt like the return trip back to their camp was taking forever. At least to Hiei. Then again maybe it was because he was forced into being carried by Kuwabara. He wasn't overly thrilled with the idea of having the human carrying him all the way back to the camp. Granted, it caused a lot less pain then actually walking back there would have caused, but it didn't make it any better. It was an embarrassment as far as he was concerned. But there was little he could do to sway the humans mind now, so he allowed the other to gloat in a way and carry him.

The fact that Kuwabara had decided that he wanted to protect Hiei didn't help Hiei's current position any either. Granted, Hiei didn't know of the humans promise to take care of him. Perhaps if he did he would be stunned. He might react a bit angrily too. Then again, he might have felt at least a little happy. After all, it wasn't everyday that someone decided that they wanted to protect you from everything and anything that could harm you. Actually...that never happened for Hiei. Hiei had been so alone for his entire life that he knew how to fight to protect himself. Yeah, he had always wished that someone had been there to help him with this difficult task, but it wasn't always the greatest idea for he couldn't trust anyone. But someone like Kuwabara who wouldn't hurt someone unless they threatened him or someone he held dear...that would be a good person to have protecting you. But Hiei wouldn't have known how to react to this, so perhaps it was best that it hadn't been announced. But either way, whether Hiei found out or not, Kuwabara was going to take care of him...protect him. The demon was the size of a child, and he had the weight to match, as he had found out.

They had been walking in a silence for a while before Hiei finally asked, "How much farther now?" He looked up to his red haired companion in question.

"Not much...maybe a mile at the most." Kuwabara responded looking down to the small demon he held in his arms.

"I think I can walk the rest of the way." Hiei concluded looking to the red head expectantly. However instead of feelings the muscled arms releasing him, he felt them tighten slightly. A frown slid over his face. That wasn't what he wanted. Apparently Kuwabara didn't want to let him go...he couldn't protect him as well that way.

"No Hiei." He said firmly, quickly continuing on in explanation. "I don't think it's a good idea. You couldn't even hold yourself up earlier. We're almost there. Once we get there, Kurama can check out your wound and bandage it. We'll see what he says about it." He explained.

"Hn." Hieis characteristic reply gave no real sign if this was accepted by the fire koorime, but since he didn't squirm or try to get Kuwabara to let him down,Kuwabara assumed he was saying "fine."

The rest of the way back was rather silent. Hiei seemed to uncomfortable being held by anyone, much less Kuwabara, and Kuwabara was to busy making sure no one was nearby that would try to attack them. They made it along pretty easy, no one trying another attack. Apparently the demon that had showed itself earlier had given up since it had lost the element of surprise having put the two demons on guard.

Neither one of them had noticed how slow the travel was going until they saw the sun slowly settling below the horizon and watched as it painted the sky and everything around them gold. The green leaves of the trees, the tree trunks and the very grass that they walked on had taken a golden hint to it, complimentary of the setting sun. Looking around, Kuwabara was amazed how much more beautiful the sunsets here looked compared to the ones in the human world. OK...the ones in the human world were beautiful too, but not like this. Glancing down to Hiei he was amazed to see that the coloration had infected him too. As he looked over every new detail of the fire demon, he wondered deep in the back of his mind if the same had happened to him.

The golden coloration had washed over the demons skin and left it a beautiful honey color, the lines of Hiei's skin had darkened, showing the true angles of the boys face. Never before had Kuwabara noticed just how feline like Hiei's face had appeared. The strong cheeks and the symmetrical features that led right to the almond shaped eyes. Normally Hiei looked so pale against the black clothing he wore, but right now he looked almost ethereal.

At this very moment, Hiei was watching the sunset himself, but he must have felt the eyes upon him for he turned to regard the one he was being admired by. Their eyes locked on one another's and both were a bit shocked. Hiei's features had taken on a celestial glow. The normally snowy white star burst in his hair had taken on a golden hue, and the light only accentuated his full lips. But his eyes were what really caught Kuwabara. The crimson red mixed with the golden to create a beautiful mixture reminding him of a wine. As for Kuwabara, the golden light had made his hair turn a copper color, and it was glinting off of his tanned skin, making Hiei just realize the strong muscles in the boys arms, neck, and the smoothness of his face. Blue eyes stared into golden-red and for a moment they were gone. The mixture of the sunset and the images it created before the two had caused a surprising emotion.

But they were quickly drawn back to themselves with the obnoxious voice of Yusuke crying, "Kuwabara, Hiei that you guys?"

"Yeah Urameshi." Kuwabara replied dragging his eyes away from Hiei's own to look up. He glanced back down at Hiei but the moment seemed to be lost for Hiei had turned his eyes away.

As Kuwabara continued through the last bit of brush that stood between them and their teammates a silence settled between the two. Both of them were wondering what had just happened and why. For that one brief moment they had noticed the others beauty and it had shone before them, shocking them. Never before had Hiei found Kuwabara so beautiful or vice versa. For that one brief moment, they had been taken away, and their reasons why were unknown. Each had found the other...well...beautiful and all in all they didn't get why. It was a fairly confusing feeling.

However they had to stop such thoughts as Kurama and Yusuke came into view. At the sight of the two warriors, Kurama gave a small knowing smirk and Yusuke just rose a brow. Perhaps they should have thought of this earlier...apparently their positions were a bit questionable, and Kurama and Yusuke must have thought that something must had happened when they were split up together. Well...something had almost happened, but Yusuke had ruined that when he had called out to them.

Kuwabara stared back at Yusuke, confusion written on his features, for he didn't get what had the two strange expressions headed their way. Luckily, Hiei covered for him...maybe not on purpose but he saved the detective from having to explain his thoughts which would most likely embarrass Kuwabara and anger Hiei. Removing his hand from his wound, he showed them his palm which had dried blood on it. "We got attacked and the idiot insisted he carry me." Hiei explained, making his voice sound perfectly annoyed.

"You couldn't even hold yourself up!" The red headed teen replied, glaring at the little demon in his arms. "An' I wasn't gonna leave you there to get attacked again." Hiei stared at him coolly for a moment.

"I think you can put me down now." He mumbled. Huffing, Kuwabara did as Hiei told him to, setting him down on the ground before the fox and taking a seat next to him. It was only now that he realized that Yusuke was holding a similar cut to Hiei's except it was going down his arm and it wasn't nearly so deep. Kurama was bent over a plant and he was currently coaxing it into growing. "You two got attacked too?" Kuwabara questioned indicating Yusukes' arm.

Kurama gave a nod and looked up. "Yes. Some demon came out and nearly killed me. We sensed him just in time, but he...I don't know...controlled Yusukes mind..." Kurama murmured, glancing over to Yusuke who offered him a cocky smile as if to say, 'I'm fine, don't worry."

Kuwabara nodded his head. "Same. Nearly killed Hiei if I hadn't done something." He murmured, taking on a heroic tone now. With a growl, Hiei snatched up some bandages, pushing himself up gritting his teeth against the pain he ambled over to a tree well away from the others and plopped down there to work on his own wounds. Removing his cloak, Kuwabara's eyes widened as he saw the large red spot in Hiei's blue homemade tank top. It took up one entire side, at least from what he could see. Tugging the shirt from his pants, he lifted it to survey the wound. It had stung horribly, and he had almost felt his leg getting ready to give out as he had ambled over there, as short a distance as it was.

"He must be angry." Kurama murmured quietly, his eyes on Hiei. Even though his voice was quiet, it was enough to bring Kuwabaras attention back to him, and once the red head noticed Kuwabaras confused stare, he began to elaborate. "He's not used to having you cover his back. I think he was surprise, and angry with himself for allowing his mind to be taken over so easily." Kurama explained.

Glancing back over towards Hiei who was trying unsuccessfully to bind his own wound, Kuwabara said, "It's not like he was expecting it. I don't think any of us were." He mumbled. He was a bit hurt that Hiei was acting this way because of him.

"He doesn't hate you as much as you think." Kurama told him, once more catching the teens attention. Kuwabara wanted more, but Kurama knew he had already given to much. Holding out a small pod he said, "Take this and put it on his wound, it will help heal it and lessen the pain of it." He explained. "Then help him bind his wound." Kuwabara nodded pushing himself up onto his knees before taking the offered pod.

As he approached Hiei, the demons head lifted from his task. A frown was on his face as he saw that Kuwabara was on his way over to him. "Let me help you, Hiei." He murmured lightly as he sat down besides Hiei. But when he reached to take the bandages from Hiei's grip, the demon pulled them away like he were a child and this was his most favorite toy. A growl even accompanied this as his eyes narrowed in a small glare. "You can't do this by yourself. Let me help you." He said, trying to keep himself from responding to Hiei's childlike actions. It was annoying how much like a kid Hiei sometimes acted.

Hiei hesitantly handed Kuwabara the bandages which he set down on the ground between Hiei and himself so that he could focus on the pod Kurama had given him. To bad he didn't know what to do. Looking over to Kurama, he watched silently as the red head simply squeezed the thick part of the plant and at the pointed tip, a thick yellowish goo slipped out onto the red heads fingers. Setting down the used pod, Kurama took Yusuke's arm and began to spread it along the detectives cut. By now Kuwabara had turned away, knowing what he needed to know.

Copying the actions, he gave a slightly disgusted face as the thick liquid oozed out onto his fingers. It wasn't that gross really, just a bit strange feeling. Gently he took Hiei's shirt in his free hand and began to ease it up. A growl of "What are you doing?" Stopped him and he looked to Hiei.

"It'll be easier to bandage your wound with it off."

"I can take my own shirt off." He snapped brushing Kuwabaras hand away and peeling the bloodstained item off of his body. Revealing his small but perfectly chiseled chest.

Kuwabara nodded his head, allowing the annoyed demon to have his own way, at least for now. Once the shirt was out of the way, he moved his hand back to Hiei, spreading the thick stuff over the wound. Before he could spread a lot, Hiei jerked away from his hand with a pained hiss.

Kuwabara jerked his hand back as he felt Hiei's body pulling away. "Sorry." He muttered instinctively. "I didn't know that it would hurt." He told him. Hiei just gave a snort as Kuwabara moved closer to him, continuing on with a softer hand now.

The softness of Kuwabaras hand didn't help the pain any, but Hiei was amazed by it. He hadn't ever thought that he could truly be so...careful. The soft touches were not something that he was very used to. He was so unused to feel a soft touch, that when it was drawn away, he nearly gave a whimper. Soft touches was not something he came by very often, actually...never before had he been given such a thing. Not even when him and Kurama were together was such a soft touch used upon him. Any who touched him, even when it wasn't for a fight, used a hard hand. This didn't overly surprise him, he always made it seem as if he'd prefer being roughed up a bit, but he didn't really. Well...everyone had used a rough touch, until now.

Hiei looked on silently as Kuwabara reached over, picking up the bandages, and he began to wrap the bandages around Hiei's middle. The soft touch was back. It just barely touched his skin, but it felt so nice. Normally Hiei hated having the bandages being put on him, it made him feel weird, but he couldn't actually give a complaint about it, so he just sat there in the awkward position allowing the human teen to wrap the bandage around his stomach area.

He sat in silence as he waited for Kuwabara to finish, and once he was done, the human leaned back to study his handiwork. "Not bad if I do say so myself." The human mussed more to himself.

"Hn, Kitsune would have done better. It's to lose, it'll fall off the second I get up." Hiei snorted lightly.

"Can't you let a guy feel good Hiei?" He asked, getting a blank stare from Hiei. "All right, well at least it will give you a reason to sit down and rest for a while." He said, making it sound as if this had been his plan all along.

Another snort came from Hiei as Kuwabara pushed himself up. Kurama and Yusuke had left a little while ago to check the surrounding area and such, wanting to make sure that they could rest in peace for the night at least. "You should relax Hiei." Kuwabara informed him, dropping the small amount of remaining bandages near a pile that had been left by where Kurama had been wrapping Yusuke's wound. "Maybe even sleep for a little while, it might help to heal your wound." He said, giving a short shrug.

Hiei had to agree. Normally he didn't want to sleep, but perhaps it was a good idea. He had lost a lot of blood, and if something bothered to attack, he was fairly certain that Kuwabara would wake him up...or at least his screams would. Not only that, but Yusuke and the kitsune weren't very far off. They probably could get here before he could even get himself into a battle stance. With this in mind, he settled against the tree, and allowed his eyes to fall closed.

Now don't get him wrong, he had traps set so that any unknown ki would immediately alert him and thus awaken him. Kuwabara watched Hiei a bit surprised, not actually having expected the little demon to have followed his advice. He didn't worry about it for very long though. Moving back to sit besides Hiei, he set about to wait and keep guard until the other two returned.

XxXxXxXxXxHiei's dreamXxXxXxXxXx

Hiei once again opened his eyes, only to give a low groan and to slip them closed once more as a bright light blinded him. "Ah, you're awake." He knew that voice! His eyes opened and he ignored the bright light, squinting his eyes to try and focus on the face.

"Who are you?" He questioned, realizing that, once again, the arms held him tightly. "Why don't I know who you are?' He asked lightly. He wanted to know. Why couldn't he ever see his face.

"You already know who I am, Hotaru." He purred lightly, giving him a smile. Hiei frowned, mumbling a small 'I don't know...' The figure smiled at him and said, "Think about it...I am sure you will know."

Hiei remained silent, thinking for a long time before the other chuckled apparently having given in for feeling bad. "All right, Hiei. Wake up, and you will know who I am."

Hiei tried to wake himself up, but it wasn't to easy. He wanted to stay here. To stay in these loving arms. "Wake up, Hiei..."

And so he did.

XxXxXxXxXx End of Hiei's dream XxXxXxXxXx

Hiei opened his eyes, and nearly jumped out of his skin. The first thing he saw was a shirt, more importantly, Kuwabaras shirt. Looking at the shirt, he tried hard to figure this out. Surely his dream had been lying. It couldn't be Kuwabara, looking up, he studied the teens face, reddened orange curls of hair falling forward over the closed eyes. Judging from the way his head was lying now, Kuwabara had been resting his head on top of Hiei's. But if that was true, then that would mean that he had been sleeping near the red head. Hell...he'd been practically cuddling with him.

He swallowed deeply, as he realized the truth of this statement. Kuwabara's arms were wound about Hiei tightly, as if he could protect him this way. This alone was amazing to him, but the thing that really got him, was that his arms had been wrapped similarly around Kuwabara only moments before.

This went against everything he had thought. Surely this couldn't have been the one he had been having these dreams about. This wasn't the second nor the third time he had been plagued by a similar dream either. He had been having them for a while.

He then noticed that bright blue eyes had opened and were staring back at him with a sense of shock evident in them. Kuwabara was amazed that Hiei hadn't woken him up with loud yelling or something. "It was you" Hiei whispered just barely loud enough for Kuwabara to hear. Squirming away, Hiei sat up fully avoiding Kuwabaras gaze as he straightened up.

They were soon interrupted by the sounds of muffled laughter. Looking away from Hiei, Kuwabaras eyes landed on the other two members of their team. "I can't believe you two." Yusuke exclaimed as he bent over laughing. Beside him, Kurama was trying to be a bit more inconspicuous about his laughter, but he was failing horribly.

There was a slight blush on Hiei's cheeks, no more then a light pink tinge but still noticeable. "It's not me...he was the one who did it." He murmured a small growling sound obvious in his throat.

"So it was Kuwabara that wrapped your arms around himself?" Yusuke questioned the little demon with a rather wicked grin. This, of course, only caused Hiei to blush even more.

Kurama jumped in now, stopping his boyfriend from poking anymore fun at the two. "Yusuke, leave them be now." He scolded lightly, having safely recovered from the laughing fit. Taking his hand, the kitsune said, "We need to see to your wound." He glanced over to Kuwabara, giving him a knowing look before he continued on.

The reddish-orange haired teen scratched his head lightly before he looked over to Hiei. It had been strange having the other in his arms, but not overly uncomfortable. Shaking his head, he looked back at Hiei and said, in a much calmer tone, "Let me check your wound."

Crimson eyes looked over him for a moment, as if trying to decide whether or not it would be safe to allow the other to touch him no matter how briefly. Slowly he gave a nod though, shifting slightly to allow the other to remove the old bandages.

They were silent for a while, both trying to decide what waking up in such a way had meant to them. Kuwabara, as well, was trying to figure out what the statement. "It was you." What did he mean by that? Shaking his head Kuwabara turned his face back to the task at hand which was taking care of the said demon.

Once the bandages had been removed, Kazuma found that he simply couldn't forget the question, and so he leaned back and regarded the little demon with a slight frown. "What did you mean earlier? When you said, 'It was you'?" He questioned lightly, his eyes drilling into Hiei.

Hiei didn't look over at him as he said, "It's hardly worth mentioning." His voice was no louder then a mumble, but he continued anyway. "I've been having recurring dreams in the last few days-" More like weeks."-and I just realized that it was you who is in them." He muttered, still not locking eyes with the other.

"What did I do in them?" Kuwabara asked, a slight frown on his face, not sure if he truly wanted to know.

Well...Hiei never gave a response, for he truly didn't want the other to know. "Hiei...tell me." He cried angrily. A growl of frustration left his throat and Hiei turned his head to look at the other. A small spark of surprise entered his mind as he noted the determination in the others eyes.

With a sigh he knew that the other wouldn't let this go at all so he just decided to tell him. "Al right...it was just the two of us. Always. Kurama and the detective weren't there." He murmured lightly. "Also, we were always to-" Suddenly he froze, heading snapping up so that his eyes were looking to the leaves. He glanced over to Kurama who was reacting similarly. "Someone's coming." He said to the other with him, pushing himself to the feet without so much as a thought of his wound. This was proven as he wobbled and nearly collapsed, had it not been for Kazumas hand.

Kuwabara glanced over to Yusuke and Kurama who had also rose and were approaching them, "You sense 'em too?" Yusuke questioned, gaining a nod from Hiei. Pulling himself to his feet, Kuwabara looked around, trying to find out where the demon was coming from.

"He's coming from over that way." Hiei said lightly indicating roughly west of their position. Kuwabara for a moment wondered of Hiei was reading his mind, but then he could feel his ki wandering out, searching for the new demons aura. Kurama, too, was doing the same thing. "I don't think it's an enemy though. He's not trying to remain quiet or shield his ki." Hiei explained, and now Kuwabara could hear the other approaching them, brushing past the trees, and not bothering to watch out for small twigs and the like.

Kurama gave a nod of agreement, muttering, "You're right." Reguardless, both of them had removed their weapons and both were ready to confront a demon. Both of them were showing their demonic sides. Yes, this new demon seemed as if he was not a foe, but they were still ready to defend themselves and weren't about to take a chance.

Only moments after this, the said demon stepped out of the forest. Upon seeing the spiritual detectives poised and ready for an attack he shook his head signaling that they weren't supposed to attack. "It's alright. I was sent by KoEnma to help you." He said quickly.

The four team members glanced between one another, before they were given a nod by Yusuke and the all lowered their weapons. Kuramas Rose Whip reverting back to it's rose form, and Kuwabaras sword disappearing. Hiei, however, kept his sword out, ready to attack just in case. Stepping forward, Yusuke asked, "How can we trust you? KoEnma never told us we'd be having extra help." It was a valid enough statement, and the other male seemed to understand this.

"Ah...you must be Yusuke, the spiritual detective...KoEnma told me much about you." He murmured lightly, giving a small nod. Judging from Yusuke's look, he was not going to respond with such a kind response until he had seen proof of the others words. With a sigh, the male continued. "I am Seikei. I have something from KoEnma right here." He muttered lightly, reaching into the pockets of his pants to remove a small item. Yusuke recognized it instantly as the item used between the detectives themselves and KoEnma for KoEnma to share any information. Normally he carried one all the time.

Opening said item, he turned it to face Yusuke and the others once KoEnmas face had appeared. "Ah, Yusuke. I guess this means that you and Seikei have met each other." He gave a short nod, more to himself then to Yusuke before he continued. "He will be of great help to you four. He was working as a spy for the very demon that you are going to be apprehending. He will be a great well of information." KoEnma leaped headlong into the speech for the others. "He is also quite a skilled healer, and so if any of you get wounded, he will be a good choice." Here he glanced over to Kurama and said, "He, too, is also quite skilled in the use of Medicinal plants." He explained. "I would-"

Here he was cut off by Yusuke who had had more then enough of KoEnmas speech. "We get it." He muttered, closing the item before tossing it back to Seikei. "Alright, if Diaper Breath says we can trust you, I guess we have no choice but to believe him." He muttered lightly to the other.

Kuwabara was only half paying attention to what was going on around him. His eyes were locked on Hiei, who had his attention focused solely on the other male. Now...this wouldn't have bothered him to much, he'd probably just classify it as a normal Hiei action...had Hiei been giving a normal glare. He wasn't. First of all...he hadn't taken his eyes from Seikei since the other had stepped out of the forest. Second, it was not the kind of look Hiei had given anyone else. It almost reminded him of the girls who stared at Kurama in the human world. He'd never seen Hiei this way, and he looked almost amazed. His red eyes were widened slightly as he watched the other and he seemed to have froze. He had at least put his katana away, otherwise the others might have noticed it.

Before he wouldn't have really cared, or even noticed Hiei's apparent attraction, but he couldn't help but to. For some reason he felt a large stab of jealousy inside of him. How come Hiei never had looked at someone else like that.

Looking to the other, he tried to figure out what it was.Seikei was about his own height. Maybe an inch or two shorter. The males hair was rather long but not even close to Kurama's. About half that length actually, falling in neat layers to about his shoulders. It was a dirty tan color that gave it a nice sheen in the morning sun. He had a long tail, this hair very short, of the same color sliding from the seat of his tanned loose pants that hung perfectly on his hips. His well toned chest was covered by a tan shirt so sheer that you could just see the muscles rippling beneath it. Like Hiei's own blue shirt, it had been hand-made into a tank top, and rested easily upon his shoulders, being belted into place at his waist by a darker tan colored piece of cloth. The color matched his hair almost perfectly. A small mouth with thin lips began the face and moved on into full cheeks and a slim nose. The almond shaped hazel eyes -much like Hiei's own- gave him an almost catty appearance. This cat appearance was completed by the set of ears placed upon his head, a tan color that matched his hair. They were slightly curved like that of a cougars. He was, after all, a cougar demon.

He simply couldn't get what had Hiei so amazed by the other. Meanwhile, Seikei had been looking about at the group, naming each of them based on what he had heard from KoEnma. He had correctly guessed Yusuke, and Kurama, and he had just questioned Kuwabara if he was, indeed, the spirit sword possessor that KoEnma had told him about. Kuwabara, however, was to busy trying to figure out what this new demon was that made him so much better. "Yo, idiot, he's talkin' to you." Yusuke suddenly cried, right into Kuwabaras ear causing the human to leap about six feet in the air. Turning his gaze back to Seikei Kuwabara gave a nod and muttered lightly that he was indeed Kuwabara.

Turning, finally, to the one that hadn't taken eyes from him, Seikei eyed Hiei for a moment. "KoEnma told me of one more, Hiei. Surely you can't be him." He muttered lightly. Hiei, taking it as an insult to his height, shot him an angry glare.

"And why not?" He demanded in an icy tone.

"KoEnma told me that you would be rather mean, and besides...you look to cute."

Normally Hiei would have killed anyone if they had dared to call him cute, but instead the temperature in his immediate area slowly began to rise as he got a bit embarrassed. The only one to really notice it though was Kuwabara who had stuck close to him in case his leg decided to give out. Yusuke had broken into a fit of laughter at the comment, and Kurama too was smiling slightly. Seikei had looked to them for a moment before he turned his gaze back to Hiei. Slowly he moved towards him, bending down to look at the other in the eyes. "Honestly, he is." He said firmly, glancing to the other three in the group.

Hiei gave a 'hn' and made to quickly turn away. He was stopped as this was the moment that his side decided to play a trick on him and his leg gave out. He pitched sideways, and two sets of arms shot out to him. Kuwabara, however, was to slow and he was forced to watch as Seikei looked over Hiei. "You alright?" He questioned, Hiei gave a short nod, looking as if he was feeling rather dizzy. Though, he was now wrapped up tightly in the arms of the one he had been staring at, pressing against the strong chest, so that could be the reason for his dizziness. Setting him down on the ground, Seikei took a seat up besides him, glancing to Hiei before he asked, "Can I see your wound?" Hiei looked extremely uncertain for a long time before slowly he gave a nod. The other looked over the wound for a while, trying to discern how bad it was.

As Seikei did this, Kurama tugged his boyfriends hand, motioning for them to leave Hiei and the new guy alone. His eyes had landed on Kuwabara, urging him to follow as well. Sulking lightly, Kuwabara turned to follow them. As he turned away, he heard Seikei announce, "Whoever wrapped this wound did a horrible job." Kuwabara stiffened and gave the other a glare over his shoulder. Kurama glanced back to him and motioned for him to come along.

"It was Kuwabara. He didn't do that bad." Hiei muttered in defense, and Kuwabara gave a slight smirk at hearing that.

"Oh...did he do this salve too? It would explain a lot. This won't do anything to heal this type of wound. Honestly, the one who had done this must never have worked with plants before."

This time it was Kurama's turn to get angry. He turned on his heel, hands resting on his hips and a look to kill plastered on his face. He'd been working with plants since before his mother and father had even thought of him! Well he'd be sure to show up that- He was stopped from doing anything he'd regret by Yusuke's hand gently tugging him along. "Don't worry about it. He doesn't know what he's talking about." He murmured to the red head, gently coaxing him into coming along.

Meanwhile, Hiei had stood up for Kurama this time. "That was Kurama. He's been working with plants for a long time." Hiei muttered. "He's a strong fighter with them." His voice had taken on a light growl at having this demon insult the people had had come to call his friends.

"Ah, I apologize Hiei." Seikei muttered quickly. "I didn't mean to insult them. But do you think I could take care of this wound? I have just the right medicine to heal this." He muttered as he quickly turned to remove a small vial from his pocket. Inside was a watery like substance. "It will heal that in no time."

Hiei looked at the small vial before he nodded. "Al right." He murmered lightly. He was a bit hesitant though. The thing was an ugly gray color, and it looked like it would hurt. But he would not appear weak in front of this new demon. Seikei uncorked the bottle, and tilted it sideways to allow it to drip onto the others side. Hiei had expected it to hurt, but he found that it had actually felt rather nice.

"Where are the bandages?" He heard the other ask. Hiei blinked a moment before he indicated a new pile that Kuwabara had been given to redress his wounds.

Silence settled upon the two of them as Hiei awaited for Seikei to finish wrapping his wounds. When he was done, Hiei silently nodded. They felt much better then they had when Kuwabara had done them. They were tighter now, keeping everything there, and not allowing for anything to irritate the wound. "Come on, lets go join the others." Seikei said, pulling himself up, before he helped Hiei stand.

He stuck close to Hiei's side, just in case the other needed assistance in the short walk. Hiei seemed perfectly fine though, not bothering to request assistance. However, he never would have asked for it, since he didn't want to appear as a weakling in front of him.

Settling down in the small group Hiei rested silently and avoided everyone's gaze. Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke watched on in silence as Seikei seated himself down primly besides Hiei. For a moment everyone was quiet, no one really knowing how to start a conversation.

Kurama was glad for Hiei, having finally found someone who had seemed as if they would be a good person for Hiei. He had not missed the stare that Hiei had given Seikei upon first seeing him. Perhaps this would be a good person for Hiei. Yeah...the comment from earlier about his control over plants had rather irked him. He had been controlling plants for longer then Seikei had existed more then likely. But...he would be able to get over that if he had too.

Kuwabara on the other hand was not at all happy, and his glare would be proof of this. How could Hiei have just thrown him to the side like that? He felt a spark of betrayal there. Granted, Hiei and himself were never very close but still! This was just horrible! Hiei didn't even know this demon, and already he was practically leaving a trail of drool behind him. He was talking about how much he hated ningens, and that the females that flocked Kurama were the worst. Kuwabara had to wonder how he would feel if he knew that he was acting like one... It would almost be worth pointing out to him. Almost. Only the fact that Hiei might have already realized, and not cared, made him stop this action.

Hiei didn't notice Kuwabara hostile actions as he tried as hard as he could to avoid the others gaze. That was, at least, until Kurama caught his attention. "Are you feeling well, Hiei?" Was the question, and red eyes rose to meet him, giving a nod in response.

Yusuke then questioned, "Do you guys think that it would be better to have another camp tonight and to go after the demon tomorrow?"

Kurama looked over to Yusuke pointedly. "That is up to you and Hiei. Are you two up to it?" He asked lightly.

Yusuke gave a nod before he looked from Kurama to Hiei. "I'm fine. How're you, Hiei?"

"I'm fine. We can go."

Seikei cut in here. "Hiei-San, I don't think that is a very good idea." He warned lightly. "Give yourself time to heal, the wound was quite bad. Or...maybe you should have been with a stronger partner."

Apparently he had figured out who Hiei's partner had been during the small scout for his eyes flickered up to Kuwabara, and there was an amusement in them as Kuwabaras gaze sharpened and he gave an annoyed growl.

Hiei just remained silent before he gave a short nod. "Fine. Perhaps we should stay." He muttered quietly.

The others looked slightly surprised. Never did Hiei do what someone else told him to do unless it was something bad. If someone had told him to kill all the humans, he would do it without a second thought. But...telling him to sit back because he was a little hurt...it was a miracle that Hiei hadn't attacked him.

Kurama recovered first and gave a nod. "Al right Hiei. Maybe me and Kuwabara or Yusuke could go do a quick scout to make sure everything is alright?" Kurama offered, gazing around to the others to see if they agreed.

Yusuke nodded pushing himself up. "I'll go." He agreed, then his gaze wandered to Kuwabara and he couldn't help but to smirk. The poor boy was trying so hard to keep his gaze off of Hiei and Seikei who had just stood up and offered Hiei his hand.

Hiei had, of course, accepted and now Seikei had gained a hold of Hiei's hand. Despite the fact that the smaller demon was already standing, Seikei kept hold of the hand, "Be careful Hiei-San, don't hurt yourself." His voice was quiet, only meant for Hiei to hear, but Yusuke could just hear it, and no doubt Kuwabara could too.

Kuwabara wore an expression of complete annoyance as he watched the two. Was he truly so jealous? "Yo, Kuwabara. Green isn't a good color for you." Yusuke pointed out to the other, telling him he had noticed the annoyance and jealously.

The blue eyes turned to him frowning lightly, "What? I am not jealous of Hiei." He muttered.

"I never said you were jealous of Hiei." Yusuke returned.

At this point Kuwabara didn't know what to say. It was auctually true. He WAS jealous. Of Seikei atleast. Only about an hour ago, he had been holding Hiei in his arms, and now the other had deserted him, and was acting like one of those little human fan girls?

Kuwabara spared a glance over to Hiei now, watching as the other sat him down, sitting close to him. Seikei was talking animatedly, and after a few moments he stood up saying. "I'll be right back Hiei-San. Don't worry." And he disappeared into the forest leaving Hiei there waiting.

Hiei waited silently, and Kuwabara was about to go over to him, but Seikei soon returned, various plants in his grasp. Taking another seat besides Hiei, he began to explain how he had made the salve he had put on Hieis wound. Hiei even listened to him, nodding every once in a while when needed, or asking him a question.

With a sigh, Kuwabara pushed himself up, "I guess I'll go with you two." He muttered lightly.He didn't want to stay here, not to watch the two of them make kissy faces. Thanks but no thanks. With a light growl he pushed himself up.

"Come on, I'm ready to go." Kuwabara said to the other two before he turned and disappeared into the surrounding forest.

Yusuke looked over to him before he glanced over to Hiei and Seikei, "We'll be back later Hiei, talk to ya then." He called, before he left following after Kuwabara with Kurama besides him.

In the course of one day, Kuwabara his first true case of jealousy, and Hiei had gained his first crush. Because of Hiei's crush, Kuwabara was feeling the touch a jealousy, and he didn't like it. He had to do SOMETHING about it.

**To Be Continued...**

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Sorry this chapter has taken so long! I meant to get it up sooner, but half way through the chapter I decided that I was going to take the route with Hiei falling for Seikei. I wasn't originally going to do that, but I figured it would be a bit more interesting this way. I hope this chapter was ok, and the next one is a continuation of this day.

Please send me a review on what I can add/Change and about, of course, your thoughts on this chapter.


	3. Emotions Collide

Alrighty! I know that this chapter came rather quickly, but I already had it all typed up. I was just waiting a bit before posting it. PLEASE give me some reviews! If I don't get more then the small amount I've gotten, I might discontinue the story on here. I would hate to do that because I most certainly do love it.

A ton of thanks to those of you who will - and already did- review the story though. It makes me want to continue.

Disclaimer - See first chappy.

I really don't know where this came from. But...well...here it is...

**Chapter; 3- Emotions Collide  
By; Rakki-Gesakusha**

They finally made it back to the camp after the sun had set. They had caught the trail of the demons that they were supposed to destroy, and now Yusuke had decided that it might be a good idea if they followed it. So...follow it they had. They had come upon the camp of about 200 low level demons, led by one high S-Level demon. Had they thought they could have gotten away with it, they would have attacked some of the closer demons, but they had deemed it to risky and had returned to the encampment.

That might have not been the best idea, at least for Kuwabara, for the demon he had fallen hard for was there. Not only this, but the other demon that had taken him away was there as well. Now...he was still trying to tell himself that he didn't care about Hiei or anything, but he had been thinking about him all the time. All day he was always wondering what had been going on with the other. How was he doing? How was he feeling? Was Seikei leaving him alone?

The answers were given to him as he stepped through the trees. Hiei was lying asleep in front of the fire, his face relaxed in a most beautiful way. He almost smiled until he noticed that there was an arm wrapped most protectively around Hiei. Following this arm, he came eye to eye with his least favorite person at the moment. Seikei. Giving an annoyed growl he took in the full picture.

Hiei had an unfinished bowl of food in front of him and he was leaning against Seikei, his head resting on the others shoulder. What the hell? Hiei never slept like that, ever. With a growl of frustration, Kuwabara turned away firmly before he heard Yusuke chuckle.

"What?" He all but screamed at the detective. Who was looking over to him.

"You're acting really funny. Be quiet or you'll wake Hiei." He warned in a teasing tone.

Here Seikei spoke up in a soft voice, much like Kuramas own tone. "He's been asleep for quite sometime. Perhaps we should wake him, he might want to finish eating."

Yusuke nodded, "You be the judge of that. You know how long he has been sleeping." He said lightly, turning to glance over to Kurama who was helping himself to a seat around the fire. Glancing over to Kuwabara, telling him to join, Yusuke took a seat besides his lover.

Sulking lightly, Kuwabara came over to seat himself on Hiei's other side, watching as Seikei gently urged Hiei awake with firm shakes and a soft voice. "Hiei-San, wake up." He urged.

The smaller demon growled lightly, shifting uneasily and attempted to bury his face more against the others shoulder. But eventually crimson red eyes opened to stare up into hazel ones before he glanced about him noting the others watching him intently. Pulling back quickly, he heard Yusuke, Kurama, and Seikei chuckle lightly as Seikei muttered a, "Good Morning sleepy head."

Kuwabara just growled lightly turning to gaze moodily at the fire. He hated how Hiei was acting right now. He was acting...so...UnHiei-ish. He felt eyes on him and looking up, he saw Hiei's crimson eyes staring at him in silence, a questioning look in them. He could have lost himself in them, but instead he just shot Hiei an icy look, sharing his anger, before he turned back to the fire.

Hiei was a bit surprised to see such an angry look directed at him, and he looked around to see if anyone else had noticed it, but no one had. Seikei, who had kept his arm wrapped around Hiei's waist, was now talking animatedly with Yusuke and Kurama about the large amount of demons that they had seen.

Noting this, Hiei shifted lightly before moving over towards Kuwabara. Seikei glanced down at him noting Hiei moving away, his arm sliding from around the other. Tightening the grip, Hiei glanced back at him in question. He didn't stop though, not until he had settled down besides Kuwabara.

"What's wrong?" Hiei demanded in a hushed voice, not wanting the other three to hear him.

"Nothing." Was the unhappy response as Kuwabara kept his eyes firmly on the fire.

"Don't say-" Hiei was cut off as the others eyes rose to him, and they seemed to trap him in his speech with the anger that he saw in them.

"Why do you like him?" Kuwabara ground out, glancing away from Hiei for a moment so that his eyes could flicker up to Seikei before they went back to Hiei.

Glancing about to make sure that no one else was watching, Hiei gave a weary shrug. "What does it matter?" He retorted.

"It matters because there are other people that you could like Hiei." He snapped, before he pushed himself up to lumber off, Hiei watching him with a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"Hiei-San?" Seikei questioned voicing the question that none of the others had asked.

"It's nothing, he's just tired, I guess." Hiei muttered through his teeth before he turned back to face him. "Just forget it." Even after he said it, he couldn't help but to glance over at the other, watching him disappear through the trees.

"He'll be back, Hiei." Seikei said lightly, reaching out to wrap an arm around him, but Hiei shook his head lightly.

"I'll go check on him." Hiei said lightly moving to stand, before Seikei had stopped him.

"Are you sure you're feeling good enough to?"

Hiei nodded his head, "I'll be fine."

"Okay...if you're sure." Seikei replied before he added, "Be careful." He then guided Hiei's face to his own, and placed a soft kiss on the others lips. He couldn't get anything more, for Hiei had shot backwards, pulling away, his eyes widened slightly and a blush developing on his cheeks. It made for a rather adorable sight, but he quietly shook his head before getting up and following Kuwabara into the forest.

The teen had stopped at a river and was now sitting on a rock besides it. He was staring down into the water, silent and apparently in deep thought. Or Hiei could only assume as much since he didn't even notice Hiei coming into the clearing.

"Kuwabara..?" Hiei muttered watching as the other turned his head, looking up to him. "What was earlier about?" He questioned.

"Hm? Oh...its just you." Hiei scowled at this before Kuwabara continued, "I meant what I said. There are other people around you that like you, but for just some reason you don't think about them."

"What do you mean it's just me?" Hiei snapped with a scowl. "I'm the only one who cared enough to come out here after you." He snapped.

The look he recieved from the other was enough to make him freeze. It was so...sad. "Why are you here then?" He questioned. "You don't care."

"I...-" Hiei didn't know what to say to this.

"You have Seikei now, you're going to forget about me."

"What are you talking about?" Hiei demanded looking confused.

"I like you Hiei." He cried. "A lot. More then you like Seikei." He explained before he turned away.

"Oh." What else could he say? Perhaps if Seikei hadn't come along...? Hiei sighed, "I never even noticed." He muttered lightly.

"I didn't really know until this morning. When we woke up I...and then less then an hour later you're drooling over him." He muttered.

Hiei sighed and shook his head. He didn't think he felt the same. Yeah, it was kind of upsetting that Kuwabara liked him, but it wasn't like he liked KUWABARA! He spent more time fighting with him then anything. "I can't change it though."

"I know...I just thought..." He shook his head muttering a small, "Never mind, forget I said anything." He told him.

Hiei moved to sit besides him. "I can't forget about it now." He muttered truthfully. "But I can't just tell Seikei that I don't want to be with him either just because you like me." Kuwabara glanced at Hiei before he nodded.

"I know." He muttered his eyes on the other. "But...does he know how you feel?" Kuwabara questioned.

He noticed a slight pink color flitting over Hiei's face. "He kissed me." Hiei said lightly as he avoided Kuwabaras gaze.

"Was he any good?"

"Yeah, but I pulled away."

"Why?" Kuwabara questioned, looking a bit surprised.

Hiei looked down, his cheeks growing even redder. "I was embarrassed."

Kuwabara started laughing as he messed up Hiei's hair. "You should see your face right now." He told him.

Hiei glanced over to him before he muttered lightly. "Shut up."

Kuwabara fell silent as Hiei told him to, turning back to look at the water. Hiei laid back on the rock, which was large enough to accommodate him lying back.

"So why did you come out anyway?" Kuwabara questioned.

Hiei's eyes remained closed as he soaked up the remaining bit of heat left in the sky. "Mm..I wanted to know why you said what you said earlier and why you had left in the first place. I guess I know why, now."

"Hm." Kuwabara replied. Looking over towards Hiei he asked, "What would you do if I kissed you right now?"

Hiei's eyes opened as if he expected Kuwabara to pull the act now. "I...don't know." He muttered honestly. Now Kuwabara leaned forward, looking at Hiei closely. This caused Hiei to stare back at him for a moment, before he looked away.

Kuwabara smiled slightly for a brief moment, before he reached one hand out to stroke Hiei's cheek. This caused Hiei to turn back to face him. Leaning forwards, Kuwabara pressed his lips to Hieis. The other froze, but Kuwabara stroked his cheek, calming him almost instantly.

He applied more pressure to the kiss as he leaned closer, his hand sliding over Hiei's cheek and up until it slid into his hair. Hiei's hands came up from his side, pressing Kuwabara away lightly before he whispered, "Kuwabara..."

"Sssh...Hiei." Kuwabara whispered, stroking his cheek. Hiei's eyes closed before Kuwabara asked, "Did you and Seikei actually agree to be in a relationship?" Hiei shook his head. "Then you're fine. I just want to once, to kiss you, then I can forget."

Staring at him for a moment, Hiei noted the pleading note in the blue eyes before he nodded. "Alright." He whispered. Smiling, those lips pressed back against his own as a large body, settled lightly on top of him.

Hiei let out a small exhale of breath at this. Kuwabara was so much heavier then he had thought. "Am I crushing you?" Kuwabara whispered, looking down on the smaller one showing concern.

"No, I just wasn't expecting it." Hiei whispered. Nodding Kuwabaras lips came back. He wasn't going to do anything more then kiss him, but he wanted to feel it. To really feel everything that he could.

Hiei's inexperienced mouth attempted to give back to the kisses they were sharing, but he didn't know how. Kuwabara didn't seem to mind though. Pulling back, he buried his face against Hiei's neck, inhaling the beautiful smell that was Hiei.

Hiei shuddered lightly at the warm breath against his neck. He was a bit nervous, and scared, not sure what to do now. Hearing something though, his eyes widened. "Someone's coming, Kazuma."

Kuwabara pulled back, his own eyes widened as well, but the surprise was aimed at Hiei who now looked confused. "You used my first name." He whispered. He wanted so badly to go back to Hiei's lips, but he didn't want to get caught. Pulling back, he allowed Hiei to sit up. The other straightened his clothes, avoiding the taller ones gaze.

Seikei soon showed himself sighing in relief as he came over to Hiei. "Are you alright Hiei-San?" He asked before he glanced up to Kuwabara, frowning. "He smells like you."

"My leg gave out again, Seikei. Kuwabara picked me up, bringing me here for a few minutes so I could rest and we could walk back." Kuwabara was amazed with the ease that Hiei lied to the other. He had done it well too.

Seikei watched him before he nodded. He glanced over to Kuwabara for a moment before he said, "Let's get back to the camp." He made to pick Hiei up but the other shook his head.

"I'm fine, Seikei. I can make it." Looking uncertain, Seikei nodded helping Hiei to his feet sticking close in case his leg decided to give out on him, again. Kuwabara walked behind them, feeling as if he was floating.

Hiei had been a great one to kiss. Even if he hadn't known how. He was still jealous of course, but it was a little better now knowing that earlier hadn't been a game to Hiei. That he did have a small chance, as soon as Seikei was out of Hiei's life.

They made it back relatively quickly, Hiei resting lightly against Seikei part of the way, his side starting to hurt from walking there and back.

When they got back Yusuke turned to face Kuwabara. "You feeling better?" He asked, a bit of a teasing tone in his voice.

Kuwabara grinned. "Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better." He purred going to take a seat beneath the tree Hiei and him had woken up in. He was feeling on top of the world, so to say. He rested back, not even bothered by the voice of Seikei talking to Hiei over by the fire.

"Hiei...I wanted to talk to you about something." He said lightly, watching the other. Hiei glanced around to the others. Kurama and Yusuke were talking amongst themselves, and he couldn't even look at Kuwabara.

"What is it?" He questioned.

"I really like you Hiei. I think we could make a great couple." He whispered lightly, looking firmly at him. "Do you think...we could try it out?" He whispered lightly.

Hiei looked away, over to Kuwabara for a moment who was watching him. He had told him...Looking back to Seikei he nodded. "...All right..." He replied simply.

Seikei smiled as he leaned down, his lips meeting Hiei's. Hiei allowed him to take the soft kiss before he settled back down on the ground. Seikei sat besides him, slipping his arm around him. Hiei glanced over his shoulder to Kuwabara. Even after he had been given another kiss by Seikei, he couldn't get the feel of Kuwabara's lips off of his own. It had felt...good. Really good.

Kurama and Yusuke soon approached them, watching silently.Was Hiei asleep again, already? Getting closer, the little demon turned to look over at them guiltily and they smiled. So...Seikei had finally asked him. "Hey lovebirds. We got some news from KoEnma." Yusuke announced before he glanced up to Kuwabara. "Hey, come here, Kuwabara. We have some news." He told him.

Raising, Kuwabara come towards the camp and fell into a seat besides Hiei, Yusuke and Kurama taking a seat as well. "So...what'd KoEnma say?" Kuwabara asked, looking over to the other two.

"Well, he says we need to wait some more. He's going to send out a larger troop of demons to take care of the 200 lower class demons. We'll have to take care of the highest level demon." Yusuke explained to the other three who hadn't heard KoEnma's talk. "He told us not to get ourselves noticed, and the others should be here tomorrow night. The next day we can move on." He said lightly.

Hiei frowned, "Why can't we just attack them? If they are low level, we can take them out easily." He pointed out.

"True, but it would just waste our strength and endurance having to take out 200 lower class demons as well as the high level one. Plus...if he can separate himself as KoEnma believes, then we will have a tough time of taking him out." Kurama pointed out to the smaller demon who gave a nod.

"I suppose that is true." Hiei responded with a nod.

Here, Seikei piped up. "Besides, it will give you even more time to rest." Hiei opened his mouth to give a reply before he was cut off by Seikei's voice, "Don't even say you don't need it. You had gotten tired of walking earlier, and he had needed to carry you earlier right." He reminded, pointing to Kuwabara.

Hiei just gave a gruff, "Fine." Before he leaned back slightly shifting into a more comfortable position. Seikei allowed him to move, before he wrapped his arm back around the other possessively.

Pushing himself up, Kuwabara said, "If that is the case then, I am heading to bed. It won't hurt to go to bed early."

Kurama nodded his head in agreement, "Yes, we should go to sleep too, Yusuke." He said, standing before taking Yusuke's hand and pulling him up. Smiling at him a bit flirtingy, Kurama led him a bit away from the other before settling themselves down. Kuwabara had settled closer to Hiei and Seikei, wanting to keep his eyes on them. You could never be sure what Seikei would attempt to pull, and just because Hiei trusted him and Kuwabara had said it was alright for them to be together that he was going to trust him too.

"Hiei...?" Seikei purred, his face slowly nearing the others, and Hiei turned to look up at him.

"Hm?" The other replied, noting the sudden change in Seikei's features. They had hardened slightly. Perhaps it was just the firelight or something.

Glancing over, Seikei noted Kuwabaras gaze on them before he shook his head. "Never mind." He said lightly.

Hiei looked confused before he shifted slightly, pulling away from Seikei's arm and shifting to face him. "Tell me." He replied simply.

"Not in mixed company." Seikei replied, nodding over to Kuwabara to tell Hiei whom he was talking about. "I want to spend some time just with you." He explained lightly, stroking the others cheek softly.

As the hand slid lightly over his skin, Hiei had a fleeting remembrance of another much larger hand doing the same thing and he shuddered lightly. But he managed to remain focused. "What do you mean?" He questioned lightly.

He gave a smirk. "We'll get to know each other the old demonic way." He purred lightly. He almost laughed as Hiei gave him a confused looked. "I'll tell you about it later."

Hiei of course didn't know what he meant by "The Old Demonic Way." What the hell was that? He had spent little time with demons as he had grown up, so he really didn't understand. But he figured that Seikei would explain later so he gave a simple nod. With that, he relaxed back against the other.

They remained that way for hours, Hiei sitting there, allowing Seikei to stroke his cheek or his back as desired. Finally, when it was nearing midnight the other stood. "Come Hiei." He whispered taking the others hand, and pulling him to his feet. Seikei had made the mistake of not looking about him. Perhaps if he had, he would have noted that Kuwabara was still watching them. Hiei noticed, but he didn't say anything, curiosity reaching it's peak as Seikei began to lead him through the woods. Soon enough they stopped in a rather small clearing, Seikei turning his position to face the smaller demon. "This should be far enough." He whispered, ignoring Hieis confused look for now.

He was unaware of the taller male crouched sheltered just in the brush, watching all that went on. He wanted to know for what purpose Hiei had been brought out here.

Bending his head, Seikei nuzzled Hiei's neck, slowly sliding the scarf from around his neck and allowing it to flutter to the ground. His hands then searched Hiei's cloak, wanting to find that clasps that held it shut. "Seikei...?" Hiei began but he was silenced as lips came up meeting his own and the clasps of his cloak were found. Once unbuttoned, the cloak easily slid down and off of his body, leaving only his shirt and pants in the way of Seikei's goal.

"We're going to 'meet' the way demons used to. Have you not heard of Youko?" He knew he had. Only a moron would have not realized that the infamous Youko now resided in the human Shuichi. Since he was so close to the human he knew Hiei would have known. "He'd have known demons for less then an hour before attempting this. He always got them too." He muttered, drawing Hiei's shirt from his pants.

Hiei's heartbeat had skyrocketed. Did Seikei truly want to do what he thought? Hands sliding under his shirt to ghost over his chest and stomach was the answer. "No...I don't want to." He muttered, attempting to pull away, but Seikei tripped him up, and to the ground they both fell, Hiei giving a slight sound of pain as Seikei landed heavily on him.

"Sssh, Hiei. I am just going to see you. I just want to look." What a lie. Once he had a look he would ravage the little demon.He tugged the shirt off of Hiei's body, nuzzling the muscled chest now.

"Stop it. I don't want to." He growled, still squirming beneath the other. He wanted free. He never should have agreed to Seikeis comment.

Kuwabara was disgusted. This demon was trying to take Hiei, when he didn't want it, and he couldn't help but to watch. He was disgusted at both himself and this demon. He wanted to see Hiei too, and this was the only way.

He was brought back to the present though with a loud snarl from Hiei. Seikeis hands had slid down to the others pants and were currently undoing them. Apparently knowing that the other wouldn't listen, Hiei shoved him away as hard as he could then scrambled back to a sitting position. Seikei, meanwhile, had fallen onto his back.

For a few moments the cougar remained that way before he gave a slight hiss and quickly stood up. "I figured you wouldn't understand." Dusting himself off he shot Hiei an annoyed glare. "You're just a disgusting half breed." Snorting angrily, he turned away firmly.

Hiei stared at him as he left, his eyes wide before he turned his head away. He didn't bother to reach for his clothes or anything. He was...how could he have said that! Just because he hadn't want to do anything. He was hurt...badly. He heard something moving in the brush, but he didn't bother to even get up or get ready. He didn't care right now. He didn't even look at the person when they stepped from the brush. The voice brought him back to reality. "Hiei?" It was Kuwabaras voice now.

Looking up at him, he noted the worry written on the others face. "What are you doing out here?" Hiei questioned while quickly reaching for his clothing.

"I saw everything." Hiei's eyes widened and his gaze dropped to the floor, his shirt clenched in his grasp. "Are you alright?" He questioned.

"I'm fine." Hiei snapped almost angrily, and pulled his shirt on with jerky movements. He was currently trying to tuck his shirt back into his pants, and he just couldn't do it.

Setting his hands gently on top of Hiei's to stop his movements he was stunned to feel the others hands were shaking. "Look at me and say that." He said firmly.

Hiei attempted to look up at him, but he always looked back down right before he met the others eyes. "I can't." He muttered quietly.

Kuwabara took pity on him, and hugged him tightly unable to control himself. "He was wrong Hiei. You're not disgusting." He told him firmly. "He's disgusting, I'm disgusting...you're not."

Hiei was surprised to hear this from the other. "You're not..." He muttered. What Seikei had spoken was the truth. He was disgusting. He was half of two types of demon that didn't belong. He was half fire half ice. He belonged to both, yet he could live among neither. He was destined to be hated by both, and every other demon that came along.

"I am disgusting Hiei." He muttered quietly. "I wanted to see...you." He muttered, pulling the other close before he had a chance to remove his head or some other unpleasant action could occur.

Hiei remained silent, pressing firmly against Kuwabara. He remained this way until the early hours of the morning when he finally fell asleep. Kuwabara remained awake, waiting for Hiei to fall asleep before he stood up, and took him towards where the camp was. He stayed in that place only long enough to grab the others cloak and scarf.

Poor Hiei. That was all he could think.

Meanwhile, back at the camp, Kurama and Yusuke were currently wondering where Hiei and Kuwabara could have gotten to. They, of course, didn't know of Seikei and Hiei's little trip. That would just be worse. They would have probably taken Hiei's side, and because of this, Seikei would not tell them.

That didn't mean that they hadn't asked though. "Are you SURE you haven't seen them?" Yusuke asked for about the tenth time.

"No, I've already told you. I last saw him last night. We got into a small fight, and he left. That human went after him. I tried to follow, but I lost them." He explained. "I figured he just wanted to be alone so I just decided to leave him alone for now."

Yusuke sighed and gave a nod, he was worried about the two. Well...mostly Kuwabara. Hiei could take care of himself. "Don't worry, Yusuke." Kurama reassured his boyfriend, putting a hand gently on the shorter ones shoulder. "They are both strong. They will be fine." With a smile he added, "Besides, Hiei has probably found Kuwabara already. They shouldn't be in much danger."

Giving a nod, the detective opened his mouth to speak, but he was silenced at the sight before him. Stepping from the brush, Kuwabara came with an unconscious Hiei in his arms. The demons cloak and scarf was tossed over one of Kuwabars shoulders. He didn't know what had happened to the little demon to make him unconscious, for no physical wounds were shown on the demons body.

Before Yusuke or Kurama could even ask though, Seikei had made his way over. "What happened?" He demanded, reaching to take Hiei from Kuwabara.

There was a growl of anger from the orange-haired teen though as he heard this. The smaller demons body was pulled closer, and Kuwabara watched as Seikei took a step back.

"Yo, Kuwabara, chill man. He's just worried about Hiei." Yusuke muttered trying to calm his friend, who was giving Seikei a dark glare.

"He's the one that did this to him." He snapped, glaring at Seikei before his gaze lightened and he looked over at Yusuke and Kurama. "I heard them last night. He was a real ass to him."

Glancing over towards Seikei, the cougar was saved from having to reply, for Hiei was now shifting in Kuwabara's arms, attempting to stay asleep but failing thus far. Blinking heavy lidded eyes, Hiei slowly took in Kuwabara's calm face, Kurama and Yusuke's worried face and Seikei's expressionless one.

Hiei's eyes did not last long on Seikei's though, almost immediately flicking away towards the hem of his cloak. "What happened, Hiei?" Kurama questioned being the first one to talk.

"I...we..." How could he explain this without seeming as if he had not been true to his demonic roots. "Seikei and I had a disagreement. That was all." He said decisively, looking at the others and daring them to speak out about it.

"That's bull Hiei! I heard everything, and I saw it. The only disagreement was he wanted you to give yourself to him, and you wouldn't. He got upset about that, and left you." This was Kuwabaras voice, and even though he knew Hiei didn't want the other two to know, he had to tell them. Hiei's head bowed in shame. It was a completely undemonlike thing, to 'meet' another person through intercourse.

"Actually, Kuwabara, that is used rather often. Demons are notoriously easy when it comes to pleasure." Kurama informed him. "So...it was most likely seen as a human weakness, and that would, of course, anger Seikei."

"But...! You should have heard what he said to him! He-" Kuwabara was rather rudely cut off though by Hiei.

"Just be quiet you damn idiot. This is not concerning you. What he said doesn't matter anymore then you overhearing it."

During this entire conversation, Seikei had remained silent, not offering anything he had said or even his own side of the argument. "No Hiei, I think we should hear what he said." Yusuke said firmly, frowning at the cougar demon now.

He was human, and the idea of having sex after having just met someone was...odd. OK, had he been a whore or something maybe. But not normal at all. He wanted to know what Seikei could have possibly said that would have made Kuwabara so furious at him.

Glancing down at Hiei, Kuwabara ignored the threatening gaze in the young males eyes as he said, "He called him 'a disgusting half breed.'" He didn't even get the full pain of that one statement to Hiei, but Yusuke and Kurama who knew of Hiei's secret past did, and they were...speechless to say the least.

Calling someone a half breed was bad, even if you were talking to a full demon. A half breed was someone who was rumored to have 'dirty blood.' So...especially for Hiei who believed the term fully, the insult was painful.

Hiei was glaring in anger at the ground between his feet while the others looked over to Seikei expecting him to jump in with an excuse. Though none was given.

Seikei waited for a moment before he just shrugged. "It's true though." Silence followed this statement. No one knew what to say. Kuwabara didn't know Hiei was a half breed, and Kurama and Yusuke was stunned that the other would be effected so little by this course of actions. They instantly glanced over to Hiei who was staring at the ground still.

It hurt like hell though. To have the truth that he had fought to ignore shoved so rudely back into his face. He didn't even know what to say...there was nothing he actually COULD say.

Luckily he was saved from having to reply as there was a suddenly a huge...army, for lack of a better word, coming from the trees and surrounding them.

The detective team snapped instantly into the attack mode, weapons being pulled from their holders or flaring into life. All of them were cursing themselves for not having noticed the large force coming.

"Ah...So you were not lying...This is the Spiritual Detective team. Hm..." These words came from the trees, and as the speaker appeared, both Yusuke and Kurama felt their guts sink. This was the army...that they had watched yesterday. That KoEnma had told them to await reinforcements before going after.

This demons eyes were on Seikei, and much to their surprise he gave a short nod, snorting as he stepped away from them, crossing the distance to the new demon who had entered the area and said lightly. "Of course they are, I wouldn't lie to you, love." He practically purred.

Hiei's eyes had widened, and Kuwabara glanced over to him out of the corner of his eye. Wow...Hiei looked...shocked. Giving himself a mental shake Kuwabara turned as he heard Yusuke speak. "You're on their side!"

Seikei turned back to them giving a nod and looking almost innocent. "Of course. He is, after all, my mate." Pulling the neck of his shirt down he bared his shoulder, revealing a bite mark that seemed to have healed a while before, but the mark was still perfectly visible.

Hiei's knuckles were white from how tightly he had a hold of his sword. His face was drenched in anger and a bit of hate and pain though he turned his gaze to the ground so that his face was shadowed by his bangs. "You lied?" He managed to question in an eerily calm voice.

Kuwabara felt a shiver run down his spine at Hiei's tone. It was...scary. To say the least. "Of course I lied. Who would honestly waste their time on a silly little half breed like you?"

Even as the words left his mouth, Kuwabara saw Hiei's gaze flicker to him once before his own eyes widened.

Before he could get a sound out though, Kurama's own voice had taken over, "Hiei don't-" But Hiei had.

The little demon practically became a rocket, launching himself at Seikei as fast as he could, sword raised in an attack. All the other could do was to dodge the attack or else he would have had a sword through his stomach.

The small demon slid to a stop and spun to face the other. The temperature around them had raised a few degrees. This just showed Hiei's true anger. No...he wasn't angry, he was absolutely furious! How could Seikei have done that!

Kuwabara was about to lend Hiei a hand, but Kurama put his hand on the taller ones shoulder. "This is Hiei's fight alone." He said solemnly. Kuwabara turned to the other demon, Seikei's mate, and decided to go after him instead.

That might be a good idea, for he was currently watching Hiei as if he were about to attack him. Heading towards the other, he heard Seikei yell out the name "Kinme" and "Behind you." He figured that must be his mates name for seconds before Kuwabara was about to land his attack, the demon turned and blocked him. The sword he now held had come out of now where, but Kuwabara didn't worry about that.

From all sides, the lower class demons rushed them, but Kurama and Yusuke worked to take care of those. Kurama using his rose whip flicking it back and forth quickly, and Yusuke was sending fists and legs out just as quickly.

With Kuwabara taking care of Kinme, and Kurama and Yusuke taking care of the lower class demons, Hiei was free to attack Seikei. He was thrilled, and he fought harder to destroy him, or atleast hurt him, then he'd ever fought before. He wanted to see him feeling pain as well.

Seikei wasn't making it easy on him though, every time he could, he would give a comment about Hiei. A mean one that would hurt him. "You're angry aren't you?" A thick laughter filled the air. "Of course you are...Tell me...did the human know you were a half breed? The ugly one you know? That one you care for."

Hiei growled, attacking him more furiously then ever. This demon, too, had managed to make a sword and he easily blocked all the attacks Hiei had sent at him.

"Oh, so it is true half breed? You do care for him?" There was a teasing note in his voice now as he spoke. It sounded almost like he was trying not to laugh or something. "Eh...a half breed and a human, huh? No...you're not even worth being with a human. You're to disgusting even for that."

Hiei clenched his teeth, trying to keep himself from responding. He was angry enough as it was. He would end up making a huge mistake if he focused on that anger. He must keep thinking in this fight. He would not let Seikei win.

The fight continued on, going from the trees to the ground where they would weave in between other battles. They fought for a while in silence, each trying to get above the other, to gain a bit of leverage in the fight. However neither one could gain an advantage. Hieis anger was slowly starting to take him over. He couldn't believe that Seikei had done this to him, much less that he knew what Seikei had said about him being worthless was true. He WAS worthless and that hurt worst of all.

Meanwhile, Kuwabara was working on the other demon, Seikei's mate apparently, to keep the male from attacking Hiei as well. It was working rather well, even though Kuwabara was outclassed and he knew it. That didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was able to keep this demon from attacking Hiei, that was all that mattered. No matter how hurt he got, he had to do that.

One particular attack, a roundhouse kick right to his chest, sent Kuwabara flying. Wow that hurt. He landed hard with his back slamming against a tree. Damn that would hurt tomorrow. Shaking his head, he pulled himself up to his feet, his legs shaking in the effort of keeping himself up. He took note of Hiei watching him, a worried look on his face. "That didn't even hurt." He said with a goofy grin, more so Hiei wouldn't worry about him and would focus on his fight. Hiei looked uncertain for a moment, and turned back to Seikei, but this proved to be his downfall.

He should have paid attention to his own fight, he knew that. What had he been thinking when he turned away? Why did it matter to him if that idiot was all right? Well it didn't matter now, Seikei collided with him, landing heavily on top of him and sending the sword flying from his grasp. "Looks like I win, Hiei." He purred a sinister smirk on his lips. Before he could move, a knife had been stuck into his chest. No, it hadn't been put in an area where it would kill him instantly. No, he would have plenty of suffering before him before Hiei would actually die, especially since he was a demon and would try to fight to stay alive. The six-inch dagger was slowly dragged along sideways to make the cut deeper and longer, at least speeding up his death. A cry had slipped from Hiei's lips at the first touch of the dagger, and he was trying to get Seikei off of him, though he could barely move without causing even more pain to himself.

The cry had been heard easily from the others in the vicinity, and it was Kuwabara that had acted first. He moved as fast as possible, and before the cut that Seikei was making across Hiei's chest could get very long at all, the sword had run right through his own chest, going through his heart. Seikei collapsed forwards, dead before he even landed on top of Hiei. The dagger had been pushed to the hilt inside of Hiei's chest, but Hiei barely noticed it. Seikei was dead, and Kuwabara had killed him. He didn't understand, but a blind anger had suddenly exploded in him, and in a desperate attempt, the wards on his right arm had all but exploded in black flames. Kurama froze in his fighting to stare at Hiei, lucky for him everyone had froze. Their enemy for the death of their leaders mate, and Hiei's teammates because they all knew what was coming, and that Hiei couldn't use that energy. He needed it to heal.

Hiei didn't care though, the dragon was thrown away from him as the words, "Dragon of the Darkness flame." bellowed from his lips with all of his strength. With a huge cry of hunger, the dragon soared high into the air before swooping down and going straight for Kinme. The male didn't even block it, allowing himself to be swallowed up by the dragon so that he could join his mate in the afterlife. Once this delicious meal was eaten, the dragon turned its attack on the lower class demons. Hiei allowed it to remain out until he felt almost all of his energy leave him. He then reeled it in. He had almost no energy when the dragon was returned to him. The only thing that remained was the charred trees and a few demons that had managed to escape the dragons hunger with their lives. Yusuke and Kurama instantly attacked them while Kuwabara went to Hiei's side.

Seikei was easily shoved off of Hiei who hadn't bothered to move, he just laid there, even when the other was off of him. Kuwabara kneeled down besides Hiei, looking over him and noting that his breathing was shallow, barely anything. He was to worried. "What did you do that for?" He whispered not even expecting Hiei to respond.

Red eyes watched him and no response was given. There was a sense of despair and betrayal in the ruby gaze, and Kuwabara was surprised to see this, but he didn't bother with it. Atleast not yet. "This will hurt." He said simply before he wrapped his large hand around the knife in Hiei's chest, and slowly he began to ease it out. Hiei would be lucky to survive this, and Kuwa knew it. It scared him. A cry ripped from Hiei's mouth as the dagger was removed, and instantly Kuwabara began words of "Ssssh, it's all right now, Hiei." The large hand gently stroked the cheek of the fire boy, bringing him to a calm state. Kuwabara was worried though. The red eyes had slid closed, and his breathing had slowed. Hopefully he had just become unconscious.

"How is he?" Kuwabara glanced up to see Kurama coming towards him. The red head was sporting his fair share of cuts and bruises. They all were. Yusuke had a cut running all the way down his firing arm. They had probably done it to keep him from firing his spirit gun. It was bleeding rather badly. Actually...they were all bleeding badly, but all of them were just fine compared to Hiei.

"Not so good." Kurama kneeled down besides Kuwabara, putting a hand on the taller males shoulder in comfort before turning to Hiei. He began transferring his energy to the other male, wanting to keep him alive at least until they got to Genkai's.

"We need to hurry." Kurama said, looking to the others. "He needs Genkai, now. A few seconds to late, and he could be gone." He could tell easily that Hiei had given up. At the end, whether it was when Seikei had stabbed him, or Kuwabara had killed the cougar, Hiei had decided that he didn't want to live anymore. He had decided to try to end it. They just had to work quickly.

Before he could say anymore, Kuwabara had slipped his arms carefully around Hiei and was carrying the other. "Come on." He called over his shoulder. They moved as fast as they could, short of running. Yusuke had pulled out the compact and was calling KoEnma, telling him that he had to get Botan to them as soon as possible. The ferry girl was there in record time, meeting up with the boys who were already heading towards the portals. Botan, however was able to make them one that let them out right at Genkais.

They sent Kuwabara through with Hiei first, then Kurama, Yusuke and Botan. By the time all of them were through, Kuwabara was already half way up the stairs. "GRANDMA!" That was Yusuke, letting the old women know that they were there.

As Yusuke was calling her name, the door slid open, Genkai appearing. They had gotten here faster then she had thought. Hiei must be in worse condition then she had originally thought. "Put him in the first room." She ordered Kuwabara who was carrying the smaller male.

She left the door open for the others and disappeared for a moment deeper into her temple to get the items that would be required to save Hiei. When she returned, Hiei was laid out on the bed, waiting for her, and the other members of the team, Botan included, were standing back looking worried.

Trailing behind her, Yukina knew that Hiei was horribly hurt, but she didn't realize how bad until she went into the room. Her eyes, which looked so much like Hiei's, widened in horror. The bandages that had been wrapped about Hieis chest were red. Not just a light red either, bright blood colored red. It was not a very nice sight. "Heal his chest, Yukina. I'll work on giving him enough energy to survive." Genkai ordered.

For hours they worked, everyone waiting on in a tense silence. Yukina pouring her energy slowly into Hiei's wound, carefully healing up every little thing she could, and finally she was relieved to see that the wound was gone. Genkai worked until she had little energy left. She then stood and turned to the others. "That is all I can do." She said quietly, he gaze on Hiei for a brief moment before it turned back to the others. "The chances of him dying still is very great. All we can do now is hope that Hiei wishes to survive." And with that she turned away.

This left the rest of them to watch the petite fire demon and wonder if Hiei really wished to live. Judging from the distressed look upon Kuramas face, the redhead didn't think so. "He's going to be all right, won't he?" This was Yukina's voice. "Hiei-San will make it?" She knew that it depend on him, but she needed reassurance. Looking up to the grim faced Spirit detectives, she was hopeful. Hiei was almost so kind to her. She was like...a brother. It brought her joy to see him, and he was always so nice, so helpful.

Botan gave Yukina a weak smile. "He'll be fine. Hiei wouldn't give up so easily." She glanced around to the three boys, and slowly they gave nods of agreement. "See. He'll be fine. Well I bet he'll be awake tomorrow complaining about how he has to stay in bed." This gained a weak smile from the others in the room, remembering how Hiei hated being kept anywhere for to long.

"You're right. He'll come back." There was general agreement to this statement.

"He has to come back." Everyone glanced towards Kuwabara at this statement, but the male had turned away and headed from the room.

In the silence that followed, none were sure what, exactly, should be said. Yukina finally broke it by saying. "Let's get you guys cleaned up, then Botan can explain more about Hiei-San." She offered.

Roughly half an hour later, everyone was seated around the small table, sipping at the tea that Yukina had made. Cuts and bruises had been healed or wrapped by Yukina or Botan, and silence rested heavily upon everyone at the table. The only one not present was Genkai and that was because she had needed time alone to regain her energy.

After a while of silence, Yukina finally decided to break the silence with the question everyone wanted to ask, but none knew how. "Botan, what is wrong with Hiei-San, and what did Genkai-Sama mean that it all depended on if Hiei wished to survive?"

"Well...you remember, Yusuke, when you were stuck in ghost form and had to wait until you could return to your body." Yusuke nodded his head lightly. "Well it is sort of like that, except that it is up to Hiei to return. At the moment, Hiei is lying between the planes of death and life. Between his body, and becoming a ghost in the Reikai. Basically he can't make up his mind over if he has a reason to return to living, or if he should just perish and go to Spirit World."

"So all we have to do is figure out a reason to get Hiei to come back?" Yusuke piped up.

"Well...yes..but-"

Botan was cut off by Yusuke now. "Yukina, I have something to tell you. If this doesn't get Hiei to come back, nothing will. You know the brother that you have been searching for, that was Hiei."

Yukina and Kuwabara were both surprised. Neither one had been told of this, Kuwabara because Hiei didn't think the human cared for him and vice versa, and Yukina for multiple reasons. "What? Why wouldn't he tell me?" Yukina squeaked, a bit hurt by her brothers hidden secret.

"We don't know, he won't tell us. Now he has to come back to tell you." Yusuke announced, clearly pleased with himself.

Botan sighed lightly and shook her head. "It's not that simple, Yusuke. Hiei has gone because he believes that no one cares for him."

A guilty feeling washed over them all. They all realized that they had indeed been to busy in their own business to really pay any attention to Hiei, or to even seem as if they cared for him. "Apparently, Hiei feels as if we have no need for him anymore, and he has gone. He will be in this state, at the longest, for one week. Any longer, he will die instantly with no chance of returning."

It was sort of true. As far as the team went. Yukina had her new boyfriend, soon to be mate, Yusuke and Kurama had one another, as far as Kuwabara went, he was convinced that this human was not deserving him. Not that he thought himself higher then Kuwabara. No. He was to disgusting, even for a human to have. Like Seikei had said. This would be for the best.

Suddenly Kuwabara stood up, setting his tea cup on the table. He left the room without so much as a word to the others. Yukina made to get up, assuming he needed comfort, but she was stopped by Kuramas arm on her shoulder. "Leave him." He said quietly. Looking somewhat uncertain, Yukina nodded her head in understanding.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Stepping into the room that held the small fire demon, Kuwabara slid the door shut before quietly crossing the room. "Come on shrimp. You know better." Kuwabara pleaded as he kneeled down besides the other male. "I do care for you, I really do. In the very least, come back so I can tease you, and we can argue." He couldn't stand Hiei leaving him. Even the thought of it scared him.

"You believe that I do not care? I will prove you otherwise." These words were whispered as Kuwabara gazed over the apparently sleeping fire demon. Pulling a blanket up over the form, he nodded silently to himself. "I will make you know that you must come back."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

TBC...

Like I said...I really have NO idea where this came from, but that doesn't matter. I just kinda went with whatever I wrote.


	4. Lost in the Dark 1

Hiya! I know it has been SO long since I last updated. I apologize times a billion. Honestly. This chapter is WAY long than I thought it was going to be. This is actually one the first half of the chappy. I know, really long. The second will be up as soon as I get it all written and stuff. I might actually cut it sooner then I had hoped for. Well, I doubt you really care about this at all. As long as I keep the story coming, right? So...without further ado, I give you Chapter Four- Part one.

**Disclaimer**;; I own Kaioshi, Kiyo and Chiyo whom you will all meet later. I also own Seikei and Kinme. Wow! I own a lot -grins- Anyway onto everything else.

**Warnings**;; There IS a mention of rape in this chapter. I have put a warning on here, and I do hope that if this subject matter offends you don't read it. Simple enough, eh? I don't care if you dig.

**Other**;; Uhh...HieixKuwa pairing, though there isn't much here of course. So...onwards!

**Chapter Four**- _All Alone_  
**Part One  
By- **_Rakki-Gesakusha_

It had been seven days since they had returned from their mission. Seven days since Hiei had had his heart broken, seven days since Kuwabara had had his first true feelings of jealousy, and seven days since Hiei had practically committed suicide. Or at least attempted it. He was now stuck within the gloom that was his mind. Kuwabara hadn't slept at all really since that day. He just sat besides the couch and talked to Hiei.

Once Hiei's injuries had healed, he had been moved to Kuwabara's home. Kuwabara had instantly agreed to take over the caring of this demon. He needed to. It might make Hiei come back if he understood that Kuwabara was willing to take care of him at the risk of his own health. The only time he ate anymore was when Kurama or Yusuke, more likely then not both of them, would come to check on him, making him eat. As far as sleeping, he would only do that if they promised to watch Hiei carefully, and even then he slept for only an hour at the most.

But now it was the last day. At midnight tonight, Hiei would be gone for good to never come back. Never again would he be able to watch Yukina from afar, or would he be able to taunt Kuwabara, yet always get the other to perform his best in a fight just so that he could prove to Hiei that he indeed was strong, though Hiei knew this. Never again would he insult Botan or surprise the others with his quiet, yet brilliant and normally true, remarks. Hiei would be gone from their lives. The deadly assailant that was their friend, brother, and crush would be gone. Was Hiei serious when he believed that no one would truly miss his parting?

Everyone would take it extremely hard. Especially a certain human boy who had just figured out his feelings for the quiet han-koorime. Perhaps Hiei didn't understand the full impact of his actions, but they had to find a way for the male to learn how much he was affecting the others. Though Kuwabara was at his wits end, what else could he do to get the other male to understand his feelings?

He had waited, however impatiently, for the male to realize that he himself would die without the koorime around to, at the very least, tease him. He wanted more from Hiei though. So much more…. He only wished that Hiei would come back so that Kuwabara could tell him this. If Hiei didn't come back he didn't know what he would do. It would crush him.

Well…he had tried everything that he could think of, but it hadn't been enough. Well…no matter. He would just double, no triple, his efforts. He had four hours left until twelve, and about two hours before Kurama and Yusuke would come to join him. They had said that Yukina would probably come to, though that made sense.

Yusuke had, after all, told Yukina that Hiei was her brother which had surprised both himself and Yukina. Though, with what Seikei had called Hiei, Kuwabara figured it wasn't that much of a surprise, but he was still rather stunned. It explained a lot though, especially why Hiei came to see Yukina so often.

Kuwabara, at the moment, was sitting besides Hiei on the floor; the little demon lying bundled up on the small bed that had been his own. Blankets were pulled up to nearly his neck, wanting to keep him warm and comfortable. He didn't really have to worry about keeping Hiei warm, but every precaution was necessary. A small bowl of water lay on the floor besides him, forgotten at the moment.

The weather was hot, but a nice summer's rain had begun to fall, making it rather muggy as well. Kuwabara barely

paid attention. The only sign to show that he had even noticed the temperature was that his shirt had been removed. Small beads of sweat slid down his chest, but he didn't bother with them.

Standing up, Kuwabara removed the blanket from around Hiei's small form, pulling it to the end of the bed and leaving it there for now. Once this task had been completed, Kuwabara picked up the bowl that held the water and the washrag. A soft tinkling showed that ice was inside the bowl as well. Setting this down on the side table for later use, he gently scooped Hiei up and laid him on his lap, one arm supporting his head softly. The other hand reached for the washrag and, after squeezing it out as best as he could with only one hand, he commenced stroking Hiei's face with it, cleaning him up.

Kuwabara didn't know for sure if Hiei would be overly happy with Kuwabara cleaning him up, but he didn't really care. If Hiei didn't like being cleaned up, then he could just come back and tell him that. Maybe it was more a hope that Hiei would hate it and want to come back to tell him this then Kuwabara's wish for the other to remain clean.

Well either way, Kuwabara was going to continue with his task. Even as he did this, he spoke to Hiei. He wasn't expecting the demon to respond, Hiei never did, but there was always that chance. Always the chance that Hiei would decide to respond to him, and to let Kazuma know that his work was paying off.

"I figured you would have come back by now, Hiei. I mean…Yukina knows about you, you know I care for you. Everything anyone has ever kept hidden from you, you know and everything that you wished to keep hidden, everyone knows…."

He was silent for a while, having finished Hiei's face. Should he was all of Hiei? Hell, why not. If Hiei got angry, he could come to kick his ass. He'd actually welcome it. Setting the washcloth back in the bowl of cold water, Kuwabara began removing Hiei's clothes slowly.

He couldn't help but to stare once Hiei lay before him. Gods, how could someone not love him? He now understood Seikei's attempts at getting to Hiei. If he didn't have a honor code, he probably would have too. It was crazy to think, though, that someone could seriously think that Hiei was disgusting. Or that he was not worth anything…they were the crazy ones. Swallowing lightly and telling himself that Hiei would understand, he once more reached for the washrag and began on Hiei's chest, cleaning the young demon in silence. At least for a few moments, then he began

talking to Hiei once more.

"I wonder what you'd do if you knew I was doing this? I doubt you'd let me do this. But even so, I can't believe how beautiful you look. I could just sit here with you all day. I mean, I am going to of course. You should know that by now. I spend all of my time with you anyway. Not that it is a bad thing."

Once he finished cleaning the smaller male's chest and stomach he looked uncertain for now what was he supposed to do? He'd start right at Hiei's legs. That sounded good.

As he washed the males' legs, he frowned slightly as he noticed that Hiei gave a soft whine of fear. "Hm?" He reached back towards the males leg, and the demon gave another soft whimper. "What's wrong Hiei? What are you remembering?"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x Hiei's POV x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I woke up face down on the ground. I knew where I was, though I couldn't give the actual name of it. When I opened my eyes, I was blinded by the reflection of the sun in the snow which I was lying face down in. A whine left my lips without even thinking about it as I quickly pushed myself up to a sitting position and I rubbed my eyes.

Looking around, I was not very happy to see that all I saw for miles around was snow. Pure white and completely level, except for a single trail that had been made by very small feet, most likely made from the foot of a child. Wait…they led right to me.

Looking down at myself I was stunned by what I saw. First off, I was about the size of a five year old human child. Next the clothing I wore was barely warm enough, or small enough, to protect me. My pants were practically falling off of me; the only thing actually holding them up was a thick piece of rope-like cord. It was the rope of the demonic world. There were holes in them, so I could easily feel the icy touch of the snow upon which I was seated. Though the cloth in which my pants were made was thin and worn anyway, not offering much more comfort then what was left bare. The shirt was like my own that I wear now, as far as it was made into tank top. This one, however, was gray and it was just as holey as the pants I wore.

This was the only protection that I wore from the harsh environment surrounding me. No wonder I felt myself freezing so badly. I had worked out that I had, somehow, been transported to my childhood times, but I didn't know when, exactly.

The only thing that my childlike mind could remember was that I had to run. I had to flee for They were coming. If They found me, They would cause me pain. The fact that I no longer remember who these "they" were made no big impact on me.

I turned my gaze back towards the land, casting out as far as my eyes could reach to look for something. Anything. My heart leapt for joy as I saw the figure of a male approaching. He was strong looking, and tall. I could tell from here even that he was tall. He was broad shouldered too, and for a moment I had the flash of a certain orange-haired human that had currently found his way beneath my barriers.

My mind was suddenly jolted back to the present however as the figure came more into view, and fear settled upon my small being. Kaioshi. Of all people why him? I didn't even know that I still knew his name.

He was my baby sitter so to say. His role in the thieving society wasn't important enough to be used very often, and so he was stuck babysitting me. I knew he hated it, for he often hurt me for bringing him down to this level as he called it. My heart began to beat rapidly in my chest as he came closer. Must get away. That thought was the most prominent in my mind at the moment, and as I pushed myself to my feet, and forced my frozen body to cooperate, I knew that this was pointless.

I already knew that he would catch me, and it scared me. My heart was filled with terror, and it was of one that I couldn't even describe. I ran. I ran hard too, but I was just too tired. I had been running for days, ignoring my hunger and my exhaustion. Finally, my body was too tired and I had just collapsed. It was to soon to continue running though, I was still tired and hungry, so I got only a little bit away before I collapsed once more and Kaioshi was able to catch up to me.

Thick fingers wrapped around the back of my neck in a grip that I was sure would leave bruises, it rung a whimper out of me as I was dragged to my feet, and then past this height until I hung, suspended in the air, before the males face. "Look at me." I knew that I shouldn't do it, but I had to. My scared gaze lifted to the icy one before me. His eyes were a silvery color, like steel, and probably about as strong. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" As he spoke, he shook me roughly, causing me to give another whimper despite myself.

"I…" My voice froze though as what I was doing settled in on me. Running away. I was doing that a lot lately. But I couldn't help it. I was afraid. The entire bandit camp that I stayed at knew exactly what Kaioshi did to me, and none of them stopped him. Some of them watched it as if it was the greatest amusement.

"Running away again, weren't you?" The voice was practically dripping with poison, and even as I nodded my head slowly, I knew that it was not a good idea. "I told you last time what would happen if I caught you running away again, didn't I" He didn't even wait for me to respond before he had dropped me to the ground, and roughly grabbed my arm instead, gripping it in a way that I felt it bruising already. "Don't you even try to run, or I'll just beat you more." The words were not a warning, but more of a promise. He would beat me horribly either way, but not nearly as badly as he would if I tried to run again.

I wasn't going to run with him right there. I was fast, but I knew that I stood literally no chance of outrunning him now, not with him so close to me. No, I would have no choice but to go along with him, and to take the punishment that I knew I had coming.

He dragged me along behind him at a rather quick pace, making me trip up quite a few times. At those moments, he would just jerk on my arm impatiently and tell me to hurry up. It felt like it took forever to get back to camp, though I could tell from the position of the sun that it had been about two hours. Dusk was just beginning to lighten the sky as I was dragged back into camp. The others, who must have known I had run off, lifted their heads and followed after us, no doubt to watch the beating that I was sure to get.

This time, however, I was going to make sure that I didn't cry. They would be very disappointed when they tried to make me cry and I wouldn't. I couldn't wait to see the anger on their faces as they waited for me to cry. Well this time it wouldn't happen, they would be left waiting.

I was dragged to the area right before our tent before Kaioshi practically threw me away with disgust, causing me to land heavily on my bottom. I didn't bother to stand though. Why should I? His first strike would just knock me down again.

Remaining silent, I waited. I knew how this stuff went. First Kaioshi would taunt me, trying to get me to respond in my anger simply for the excuse of being able to hurt me more. Then would come the beating, he would beat me until I cried. Once I had finally started crying, he would leave me crying, only to come back a little later to collect the blackish-violet tear gems that I cried. This was what happened every time, but this time it would be different. I wouldn't allow myself to cry no more. Only weak demons cried, I wasn't going to be weak anymore.

"Why do you run, Hiei? When you run we only have to beat you more. Not that it is truly a bad thing, we all like the show, I'm sure of it." There were hoots of agreement from various demons that were currently watching. "But you never get more then a few miles away before you collapse. You are too weak to survive on your own. You need to stay here, with us, and learn your place."

He paused, probably to wait for me to respond, but I wouldn't. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that the words he was saying were getting to me. I gritted my teeth and just glared at him.

"Aww…is it bothering you?" He smirked, and the catcalls from the other demons started. They wanted him to skip this and just make me cry. They were going to be disappointed. I wasn't ever going to cry again. Never, I looked up at him with a stubborn look on my face bred of being an abandoned forbidden child.

He laughed at it though. He laughed at ME. I gave him an angry growl. If there was anything that I hated more then being beaten it was being laughed at. He knew that too. He knew how angry the laughter made me. The others must have figured it out too, for soon they joined in with the laughter, egging me on to being even angrier.

I wanted to hit him. Bite him, make him feel any kind of pain that I possibly could. I wish I could control the fire inside really good. Then I could actually set his ass on fire. I could almost smile at the idea of him being burnt alive by myself. Some day I would know what that felt like. It would bring me such joy, such pleasure to know that, for once, I would be the one who hurt him. I could almost smile at this.

He was getting a little bored of this though, probably because I wasn't responding the way I normally did. "Come now, Hiei. Surely you have something you want to say to me." He leaned close, and grabbed me by the scruff of his neck. "Come now, say something."

I closed my sharp little teeth down on my lower lip knowing that the temptation of saying something to him would be almost too much. I stared back at him defiantly not giving myself the chance to openly say what I felt for him. He shook me roughly before repeating what he said. And, as if it was jolted out of me when he shook me, the words of all the things I wished that I could do to him sprang forth from my mouth.

"I wish that you would go to hell and rot in the deepest pits of hell never to be seen again. Someday, I am going to watch as you burn from the flames that can sprout from my own hands. I am going to watch it with pleasure too as you writhe before me dying." I practically screamed this out at him and when I finish I am staring angrily at those eyes. Those ugly silver eyes that forever will haunt my mind. I glare at him as angrily as I can, slowly becoming aware of the fact that I am panting rather heavily.

His laughter deepens at these words, and like a wave the rest of them join in. It flows over me, like a river and soon I am drowning in the laughter. I can't take it anymore it was making me to angry. With an angry snarl I launched myself at Kaioshi, actually being able to knock him over and send him to the ground. I scratched at everything that I could reach, biting his arms as well, which were bared to me since he had thrown his arms over his face instinctively when I tackled him. I was able to stay on top of him for a few moments, scratching and biting all of him that I could possibly reach before I was flipped over, and the heavy body settled down on top of me. One hand launched out, grabbing my own wrists and pinning them above my head. I, of course, squirmed trying to get the other off of me. My slight frame was no where near big enough to tip the larger one off of me especially with my hands pinned up above my head. My eyes found his own above me. Mine were like liquid fire and his steel. I glared for all I was worth even as his fist came back and launched itself straight into my face.

"I wish that you would go to hell and rot in the deepest pits of hell never to be seen again. Someday, I am going to watch as you burn from the flames that can sprout from my own hands. I am going to watch it with pleasure too as you writhe before me dying." I practically screamed this out at him and when I finish I am staring angrily at those eyes. Those ugly silver eyes that forever will haunt my mind. I glare at him as angrily as I can, slowly becoming aware of the fact that I am panting rather heavily.

His laughter deepens at these words, and like a wave the rest of them join in. It flows over me, like a river and soon I am drowning in the laughter. I can't take it anymore it was making me to angry. With an angry snarl I launched myself at Kaioshi, actually being able to knock him over and send him to the ground. I scratched at everything that I could reach, biting his arms as well which were bared to me since he had thrown his arms over his face instinctively when I tackled him. I was able to stay on top of him for a few moments, scratching and biting all of him that I could possibly reach before I was flipped over, and the heavy body settled down on top of me. One hand launched out, grabbing my own wrists and pinning them above my head. I, of course, squirmed trying to get the other off of me. My slight frame was no where near big enough to tip the larger one off of me especially with my hands pinned up above my head. My eyes found his own above me. Mine were like liquid fire and his steel. I glared for all I was worth even as his fist came back and launched itself straight into my face.

It hurt. It hurt like hell. Everything went white for a moment, like the sun had just shone brightly right into my eyes. By the time the light had cleared and I could see his face, his fist was flying back to connect with my face, though this time my vision didn't leave. Over and over his fist connected with my head and I couldn't help but to allow my voice to explode from my throat in pain. I didn't cry though, that's what I prided myself on. Over and over he hit me, and I cried out each time. I could hear the demons around us screaming and cheering the beating, but it sounded like a soft buzzing in my ears. I knew it was there, but I couldn't hear it.

He beat me for a long time. Even after the light had faded from the edge of my vision, and I felt myself slipping into the darkness, before I did reach the emptiness however he stopped. My eyes were bruised; just like the rest of my body I was sure. My eyelids alone felt as if they weighed a ton, but I managed to pull them half way open and to stare at him. I was tired now, wanting only to return to my own small area and to sleep my pain off. But he had other ideas for me and with a swift smirk and hauled me to my feet. "You will not cry little one?" He said in a voice that was much too sweet for the Kaioshi I knew.

Much to the discontentment of the demons outside, Kaioshi dragged me into the tent and firmly secured the flap closed. Turning to face me he gave a twisted little smirk. "You won't cry when I beat you? Fine. I'll get those pretty little tear gems of yours another way" Without another word, he dragged me over towards the sleeping mat that served as his bed, dragging me down to the bed and forcing me to lie back. I fought him as best as I could, feeling a sudden surge of fear. I knew something bad was going to be happening to me, and I was scared.

He climbed on top of me on the bed, effectively pining me to the bed. I was so sure that he would continue the beating that had taken place outside, but deep down I knew that this was not the case. Apparently he had this plan, because I could feel his hands sliding along my body from my hips and up towards my neck. Once the hands reached my neck, I was paralyzed by the feel of his thumb gently stroking the wind pipe that resided there. All he had to do was close his hand tightly right on that area, and I would be gone. The thought drew a whimper from my throat, and as the sound came out, I could feel his finger pressing against my throat.

Fear welled up inside of me, threatening to overwhelm me. Just as I was about to beg him not to hurt me, he leaned so close to me that I could easily smell the scent of body odor and the musk of the surrounding trees that surrounded us. They mixed to form a downright disgusting scent. For a few moments my mind was full of his smell and his breath tickling my ear. Then he spoke and my mind iced over at its sound. "You want to be a man, Hiei?" His voice was velvety and laced with a passion that I have never heard before. Normally the only sound I hear in this voice of his is hatred and a bit of glee when he is tormenting me. I do not answer straight away, and he continues. "I can make you a man Hiei. I can make you strong, isn't that what you want?" I nod mechanically, not really even able to do anything more than that. He smiled against my neck where he had just recently placed his face, buried against my warm skin.

He is cold and I almost push him away, but I stop myself right before I do this. Do I want to want to ruin the only chance I have to be turned into a man? I know right away that the answer is no, and so I don't stop him as his hands once more start their way down my body. Though I've already decided that I don't like this that much really.

His fingers find the clasp of my clothing and before I know it, my chest is barred to his view. He smirks slightly running his finger from my neck to the waistband of my thin pants and back up again. His fingers run so lightly over my skin that I shiver beneath his touch. He seems pleased by this, and he bends at the waist to place kisses against my chest, leading up to my neck. He places a kiss on each cheek, and finally his lips land ever so gently upon my own. The contact shocks me even more as I feel his tongue slid along the seam of my lips. I don't know why he did that, but even if I did I would have been able to respond. I didn't have to worry about that though, because his hand soon lifted to press against my jawbone and before I could react to this, he had forced his tongue inside of my mouth.

My mouth was filled with his taste which was slightly spicy but with an almost minty hint to it. I had little time to worry about that for moments later, his tongue swapped gently against my own and shock rang through me. It felt...good. Strange of course, and different. But still good. While I focused on what his mouth was doing with my own, I felt him lying down on top of me, and this forced the breath from my lungs. He seemed to realize that I needed to breath because he tugged his mouth away and placed soft kisses along my jaw line, heading towards my neck. I was not used to him EVER being this careful with me, and I was thrilled by it. Wishing I had seen this side of him earlier.

His kisses to my jaw line distracted me, and before I knew it, he had managed to slide my thin pair of pants off. I swallow slightly, suddenly aware of my nudity and I whimper his name questioningly. Why does my clothing need to be gone in order for me to become a man like he said he was doing? I didn't understand AT ALL.

My words went unanswered for a while since he was working his clothes off. I felt a little bit better knowing that he too would be naked. He still worked to ease my uncertainty anyway. "Ssssh...Hiei, its OK." He whispered leaving to once more my body with his own much larger one. While he spoke, I caught the glimpse of something in his gaze that I have never seen before. It looked almost kind. I thought, for a brief moment, that he perhaps was showing love but I have seen that look when my mother would gaze at me the first three days of my life before I was abandoned by the mean elders. The ones whose claims that I was a "curse" and an "abomination"still haunted me. This was not love. This look, whatever it was, unnerved me. I felt his lips slide into /that/ smirk. The one that meant that something was amusing him. I had a brief fear, but I quickly shook that from my heard, reasoning that he had told me it would all be OK. I had no idea at this point in time he wished to use me for his own physical needs. But I did have an idea that something I didn't like was going to happen, and that caused me to react in fear.

"St...stop. I don't want to anymore." I breathed in a voice that was no more than a whisper but I knew he could hear me. No response came to me. He neither spoke to me or ceased his advances. I felt the cold grip of fear once more and I repeated the words again, but a bit louder. Again, no response was given except for a hand sliding down my body towards my crotch.

Before I could utter another syllable a finger was slowly pushed forcefully into my body and a cry was forced from my mouth. I knew what was going to happen now. I was young, yes, but I wasn't ignorant to what adults did. I'd seen it a few times, accidentally walked in on it. But I had never thought that I would be the one to go through it yet. I didn't /want/ to go through with this yes.

I was saved though, I didn't have to worry about remembering exactly what had happened. The fear mixed with the pain had sent me into the darkness of unconsciousness. After stretching me with only a single finger, Kaioshi had decided that I was stretched enough for him to enter me. The pain had proven unbearable and I quickly lost consciousness. I would have no memories of what exactly had transpired the night before. I was saved this and I wouldn't remember anything.

I would know what had transpired, but it wouldn't be in to great detail. Thank god. When I awoke, I was greeted by the white fabric of a tent. It made me feel disgusting once I remembered what had transpired the night before. It made me feel sick, and the white fabric above my naked body seemed to be ridiculing me. Ridiculing the innocence the innocence that had been taken so unfairly from me. Had I done wrong? I had attempted to stop him when I realized what was going on hadn't I? He had been correct though. I did not feel childish anymore. Maybe, perhaps, I had been wrong to stop him? I felt as if, over the length of one day, roughly, I had lost all innocence that I had, at one point, still had. I had lost it in one single gruesome moment and the realization made my eyes tear up. I swore on every god I knew off that I would DESTROY him for this. Even if I had to wait for YEARS I would do it.

I silently cursed him in all of the most terrible curses I knew, in every language I knew. I cursed him to the deepest pits of hell and anything else I could do. Before I had very much time to curse him though, I was distracted though by a voice that sounded...kind of familiar, but I knew it was definitely not Kaioshi.

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TBC...

Well there ya go! The first half of the chapter. Second should be up soon enough. Its just a matter of finishing the typing of it.

Thanks again to all of my lovely reviewers and to anyone who reads it.


	5. Lost in the Dark 2

**Hiya again everyone! I'm sorry the story has taken me so long to write. It wasn't for lack of trying, trust me. I am so glad that everyone has enjoyed the story so much! It makes me SO happy. This story, get this, has hit the 1000 mark on hits. I was thrilled. My other one only has about 700 hits. I am so happy everyone is reading this, and I hope more do.**

**To my reviewer;;**

Cold Toenails - **To both you and Hailie, I stopped there because I love leaving people on cliffies. Its my speciality. Now I can't answer your two questions (It will ruin the story!) Thank you so much for the support and love, and here is the update.**

**Warnings: A slight mention of abuse other then that, a lot of death in this chappy. Two I believe?**

**Without further ado...**

**Chapter Four : All Alone  
Part TWO  
By: Rakki-Gesakusha**

"Oh! You're awake!" The voice said sounding surprised. "I almost wasn't expecting you to wake up."

The voice was a womans one, not Kaioshi's own deep voice. It was light and fluttery, much different from what I was used to. I kind of recognized the voice, and turning my head my gaze landed on one of the only woman in the camp. Her name was Chiyo or something like that. I don't remember really. Not off of the top of my head. She was the young wife of one of the bandits, saved from being slayed like the rest of her village because the thief had found her beautiful. She had bright emerald colored eyes, and for some strange reason I felt a flash of familiarity as her eyes landed on me, but it quickly faded. Her delicate hands brushed back the thick locks of black, curled hair that fell into her pretty heart shaped face. Even though I was only a child, I could fully understand why a man would want her. She was young to be married, but much older than myself. I fancied her to be about 17 perhaps. Her stomach had a slightly rounded shape, and I wondered if perhaps she was expecting a child. Though that is /not/ something you can ask someone. Her face had already shed the youthful looks of a child and was gaining the beauty of an adult.

Seeing my gaze resting on her rounded stomach she laughed gently. "Yes, I am pregnant. I know it's kind of easy to notice now." She stated softly. A smile had settled onto her features. When she took a step towards me, I couldn't help but to squirm away from her, not certain of her intentions. After the night I just had I was to...scared to let her in close. Atleast close enough that she could cause me harm. However, even such a small movement caused pain to shoot through my body, and I couldn't help the soft whine and wince I gave off. Sadness filled her gaze and she sighed. "Don't worry little one. I won't hurt you. I was actually helping you." Seeing the grimace of pain on my face she said, "You have not healed yet." I glanced over to her once more before I moved slowly and shifted slightly so that I could be more comfortable. The pain faded after a moment, but it still hurt while it lasted. "Here, I have someting to help with the pain, I can put it in with your soup if you want." She offered and I gave a nod of acceptance. She the fell silent, bustling around the small cooking area to make me some soup and to put a small mixture into it that she made from grinding herbs and a few other plants that I couldn't recognize.

After letting it simmer for a while, during which we both remained silent her going about her business of running the small home and me watching, the house had been filled with the smell of the soup and I was positively starving! I could quite easily hear the own rumbling of my tummy, and I realized she could too as she began to laugh gently. I flushed, embarrassed for my lack of manners and she brought it over to me in a small bowl. "If you are still hungry afterwards, don't be afraid to tell me, alright?" I nodded sure I would be coming back for seconds.

After I had settled into a comfortable seat by the table, setting the bowl on the table, I began to eat eagerly. The stuff was still hot, but I didn't care. I was to hungry, and it was so good! The soup was mostly a thin broth, meat was a delicacy amongst us, but it was just filled with flavor and I devoured it greedily. Within a few bites I could just feel myself becomming warmer. I was pleasently relaxed by the time I was done eating, and felt ready to get some more sleep when I heard shouts coming towards the small clump of tents that made up our encampment. I looked over to Chiyo, wide-eyed. Anyone could take us over right now. Even if the men were here but I had known by the silence of the camp that they were not.

If we were found, Chiyo would be taken prisoner, her unborn child ruthlessly cut from her stomach. She would than either be forced into a relationship with one of the stronger males of the tribe, or into the role of a simple maid of sorts. Even worse, she might be taken into the role of a pleasure slave for all of the others. As for myself, I faced a far worse fate. Or atleast...my childness believed it was worse then being a slave of sorts to people. I would be confused as Chiyo's child, and I would either be killed before Chiyo could explain that I was not hers and that I was orphaned or I would be left behind, wounded normally, to be finished off by whatever demon that came along afterwards. Sometimes this wasn't so bad, I could be nursed back to health, but more often I would be killed or eaten by a weaker demon.

Chiyo, too, seemed to have realied the incoming danger for she quickly stood and tossed in my direction a pair of warm pants and a huge shirt. "It will be big, but you can wear it for now." She told me and I assumed it was her mates. As she bustled about grabbing anything that may be of use to us if we had to flee, I struggled into the clothes. The sleeves of the shirt fell down well past my hands, no matter how much I pushed them up. The pants, too, were very long but I could pull them tight about my slim waist. Atleast tight enough that they wouldn't fall down on me. I would defenitely trip over the long legs however, that was certain.

Right after I had finished getting dressed, the sound of someone jiggling the door handle could be heard. I froze in fear, staring wide-eyed at the door, but before I could react a voice followed, "Chiyo-chan open the door!" Seconds later the door was opened by a very relieved looking Chiyo who threw her arms tight around her mates neck. "We have to leave now." He warned her, gently prying her arms from around his neck. "An attack is coming." I had been with the theiving gang long enough to know that these were not unusual. A lot of demons attacked theiving gangs. After all, they stole stuff from rich demons, so they were rather well off a lot of the time. Not only that, but they never stayed in one spot, so they carried all of their valuables. Chiyo had removed her arms from her husband, giving a nod, and returned to gathering items to bring with us. Her mates gaze then fell upon me. "Kaioshi is here for you." He said quietly, stepping to the side, and Kaioshis large form filled the doorway.

I froze, my heart filling with fear as the male came forward, reaching for my arm. I gave a cry of 'No!' and broke away before he could grab me. Chiyo had reentered the room, and it was to her that I went seeking safety from this man who had caused me so much pain in my short life. She kneeled down besides me, and I buried my face against her soft chest, reveling in the comfort she so easily allowed me to take, wrapping both of her arms tenderly about me. Looking from her mate to Kaioshi and back she said, "I want him, to take care of him." Her eyes settled on Kaioshi and she said quietly. "You never take care of him as you should anyway."

"He is my responsibility." He ground out furiously.

"You don't take care of him!" She retorted just as angrily, "You don't -"

She was cut off as her mate stepped in snapping that now was not the time for this. They would figure everything out later, when they were safe. He turned to Chiyo, giving her the job of caring for me while we made our escape. He took the items that Chiyo had placed into a sort of bag. It was nothing more than a bag of very precious gems, food, and clothing. Gently prying me off of her, she took my smaller hand in her own and led me out of the small home.

All around us, people were gathering their things and heading off. Fires were being set to huts that were emptied so that whoever was going to attack couldn't use anything left behind. We didn't get very far before Kaioshi joined us having left for a few breif moments to gather some food and other valuables from his own home. As he rejoined us, he reached for my free hand and said, "I can take care of him far better than you woman." My hand tightened around Chiyo's and I pressed more firmly against her side. I knew that she would protect me from the man, and if Kaioshi decided to turn on her instead her mate would protect her. Knowing I had two adults there to protect me, I felt little fear of Kaioshi atleast for the moment. Once they were gone, I would be in trouble, but that was to be worried about later.

Chiyo ignored the males comment and said, "We will discuss it later." Her husband was already heading at a quick pace towards the woods, and I was hard pressed to keep up as Chiyo began after him. I was much slower than the other adults, naturally. Chiyo made adjustments for me, of course, but it was not very long until I was much to tired to go on. Chiyo was forced to stop, and she tried hard to get me to continue moving again, but I was much to tired. It felt as if we had been fleeing forever, and it was true that the mass amount of the day, and rather late into the night had been spent fleeing. I was well past tired though I could tell Chiyo was as well. A call was made to her mate and, after taking in how tired we both were, he agreed to set up camp for the night.

I was left in the high brush with VERY strict directions to not move as they all left to gather wood and plants and such things for a small fire and perhaps a soup or something. I wasn't sure how long I sat there, but I was so tired that I eventually dozed off to sleep, and had to be shaken roughly awake. A whine left my lips as I saw that it was Kaioshi who had awoken me, but my fears that I had been left with him were soon quelled as I heard Chiyo reprimand him harshly. "Don't be so rough with him, Kaioshi." The honorary title that she was supposed to use with all of the men was not added to his name, and her eyes held an almost fiery look to them.

I was surprised that he had listened to her. I was even more surprised that I felt a strange sense of happiness at this. Chiyo's icy gaze remained on Kaioshi for a few heartbeats, warning him against being so rough again, before they turned on me. The gaze instantly softened into that of a motherly one. It made my heart flutter happily to finally have /someone/ look at me like that. "I didn't want to wake you Hiei-chan, but I figured you were hungry?" It was half a statement, and half a question.

I nodded my head eagerly and rubbed my stomach which had started to rumble at the prospect of food. She gave me a small laugh and held her hand out to me. I quickly took her hand, and she led me over to a small, yet very warm fire. Instead of setting a bowl of food in front me once I sat down, as I had expected, she set down a bowl of water with a rag in it. I looked up at her in confusion and she settled down before me, her hands ringing out the rag. Before I had a chance to escape her, she was scrubbing at my face, cleaning it with gentle but firm movements.

I gave a whine and brought my hands up to try and block her route, but instead she grabbed my hands and washed them too. When she had finally finished and my face held a pout she chuckled before finally held out the soup to me. I forgot my disgruntled feelings that I had felt just moments before and eagerly took the offered bowl beginning to eat. The broth, once more, was just as flavorful as the scent of it had led me to believe. Also, this soup had thick pieces of meat in it. Apparently either Kaioshi or Chiyo's mate, who I now remembered was Kiyo, had found an animal or something and killed it. This was proven for, over in an area that was dimly lit by the fire, I saw the raw hide of an animal. It looked as if it were a small cat of come sort.

Chiyo stood once she had finished cleaning me off and handing me my food, watching Kaioshi enter the small ring of light created by the fire. He took a seat in front of a bowl of soup he must have been eating before he had been sent to wake me up. Getting some soup for herself, Chiyo set herself down besides Kiyo. There was a silence before she slowly spoke up, a small hint of hesitation present. "Anata...I think its about time we decide what should be done about Hiei-Chan." Kiyo glanced over to her, we all did, and I saw Kiyo glance at me quietly as he thought.

"We should wait until he is put to sleep." Kiyo decided quietly.

"But, Anata! He should have a say in who he stays with." She pointed out, and Kiyo had to admit that there was truth in her words.

"Very well." He decided lightly before he looked at her curiously. "Why do you want him so badly?"

Instantly her gaze settled on me and it was once more the loving, motherly one that I had come to adore having in only that breif amount of time. "He is only a child, and yet he has no mother, or any parent for that matter." She said quietly. "He deserves a parent who will take care of him, " Her eyes caught Kaioshis and her gaze sharpened. "Take care of him correctly, not treating him as if he were a slave or worse."

I was surprised by the forwardness with which she spoke. Everyone knew of the actions that Kaioshi took against me, and I knew most of them disapproved and only a few of them found it really a sport but no one ever had stood up to him for it. In response to her words, Kiyo frowned slightly but nodded none-the-less. He, however, wasn't allowed to comment on her words for Kaioshi spoke up with a snarl. "If you truly cared you would have offered to take him off of my hands earlier. Besides, woman, you are already going to have a child. Why would you care for another? Especially one as unwanted as him." My face fell at these words, and I felt hurt sting me. Chiyo noticed this, and I got the affection I needed as she pulled me into a hug, whispering into my ear that I shouldn't listen to what he said. "He is a half breed anyway. Have you ever thought that, perhaps, the reason that he doesn't have parents is because they were smart and didn't want to bother with him?"

Silence fell as Kaioshi finished his speech. I scrubbed at my eyes, my sight blurred unbiddeningly by tears which I wouldn't allow to crystalize. Kiyo was half stunned and half furious by Kaioshi's words. Chiyo, on the other hand, looked as if it were her own child, her own flesh and blood, that Kaioshi had just said all of those things about. Her arms had tightened around me even more as she saw me scrubbing roughly at my eyes, and she allowed me to bury my face against her shoulder and hide away from those words. That...truth.

The tense silence was broken as Kiyo took a deep breath and asked a question I was not expecting. "Who do you want to stay with, Hiei?" My mouth opened slightly in surprise, and I looked at him in silence, confused with this. I was never asked my opinion on anything. Children rarely were. The adults believed that children never knew the best choice for anything, and often times this was proved correct. But a lot of the time, a child knew what the best choice regarding themselves would be. This was the case for me, or so Kiyo believed.

My gaze wandered from Chiyos kindly face and over to Kaioshi. Judging from the harsh gaze on Kaioshi's face, he would not be forgiving of me if I chose who I wanted to. I then settled my gaze on Chiyo and looked at her silently. She reminded me of my own mother, and I wanted to stay with her more than anything. True, I hardly remembered much of my mother, but when she did hold me, she did so as if she cared more for me than anyone else in the world, and that was how Chiyo was gazing at me. I almost blurted out that I wanted to stay with her, but then I remembered Kaioshi. I was afraid of what Kaioshi would do if I told them that. Remaining silent a few more minutes I tried to decide. Could I live for the rest of my childhood under the harsh treatment of Kaioshi? No. I couldn't. Nothing he would do to me if I chose Chiyo and Kiyo over him would compare to what he would do for the years I would have until I was old enough to take leave of him.

Looking to Kiyo, I put on the bravest face I could and said, "I want to stay with you and Chiyo." Nothing that Kaioshi could do to me could compare to that which he had already done, and would do if I stayed with him. Kaioshi seemed to grow even angrier, but I was to caught up in the realization that I was going to have a family now. A REAL one. With a mom and a dad, and maybe even a little brother or sister too. They would never be my real family of course, but they were the closest I could possibly get to having one, and I was content with this.

"Very well, as soon as we get back I'll speak with Saku when we get back." Kiyo stated lightly before he returned to his food. Saku was the main leader of the group. Everyone referred to him and showed him the utmost respect. There were a few others and they too were respected, but they deferred to him as well. He got the position the same way any demon gains a position in the heirarchy. He was the biggest and strongest of the group. Not only that, but he was a great theif, and therefore his position was secure.

As happy as I was, I was also tired, and I slipped off of Chiyos lap to go and finish my soup quickly. As soon as I finished, I moved back over to her, showing my empty bowl and yawning lightly. Smiling gently at me she said, "You must be tired." As she took my bowl. I didn't realize that she wasn't actually asking me, and nodded my head yawning again. Setting the bowl aside, she quickly took my small hand in her own and led me off. I wasn't led very far, still in the sight of the fire, but not so close that the light would bother me. She had snatched a blanket from nearby, and she motioned for me to lay down on the ground. "I know its not the most comfortable place to stay," she said as she pulled the blanket up high over my shoulders. "But its just for tonight." She settled herself down on the ground besides me before she said, "I know that Kaioshi is going to try hard to make it so that you won't be able to stay with me and Kiyo. But we are going to try just as hard to keep you." She told me. I looked up at her with a nod. I hoped it would work. I didn't want to go back with Kaioshi. She read the fear in my eyes and smiled gently. "Do not fear though. That is something for me and Kiyo to worry about. Just sleep." She said gently, running her fingers against my hair gently before brushing the bangs from in front of my red eyes.

I was more then eager to comply with this, and I settled down as comfortably as I could on the ground. She continued to brush my hair soothingly from my face and one of my hands held tightly onto hers, afraid that she might leave me if I were to let go and I'd be left, once again, with only Kaioshi in the world. I don't remember much else except that I had fallen asleep with Chiyo sitting up besides me, allowing me to grasp her hand tightly. I had no idea what I was about to wake up to though. Perhaps, if I'd have known, I never would have woken.

It was still night when I woke up, but it was very close to dawn. Living my entire life in the wild with a pack of theives had taught me early on how to tell the time by the movements of the sun and the moon. Everyone else was still asleep though, hulking forms in the soft moonlight. I was sandwiched between Chiyo and Kiyos large, warm bodies. I was quite warm, and felt extremely safe and I was quite loathe to leave the warmth. I decided that I must because I was very thirsty, and there was no clean water nearby. Only that which Chiyo had scrubbed my face with, and I had learned early on not to drink such kinds of water. It was not much of a problem however for I could hear the soft bubblings of a stream nearby.

I carefully climbed out from between the two, and shivered as I felt the cool air carress my skin. I quickly made my way towards where I heard the stream, already missing the safe warmth of the two adults. Before I knew it I had reached the small stream and settled myself on the bank. The water was cool and clear, the perfect kind. And it was moving, never drink still water. The first lesson a demon learns when living on its own. Cupping my hands together, I made a ladel of sorts and lifted the the water up to my lips, taking a nice long drink. It was great tasting, and I hastily dipped my hands again into the water to grab yet another drink, bringing this too to my lips. I barely got a good drink though for soon I heard the sound of rustling in the bushes behind me. I spun around, still crouching, my hands pressed firmly to the ground and my head cocked slightly for the sound again. I was ready to bolt, for that was all I could do. I had not yet learned to protect myself with a weapon, or even with my ki. Kaioshi had always told me that I was to young for such things still. So running was the only thing that I could possibly do.

I soon saw glittering hazel eyes staring at me from the darkness, and for a breathless moment all we did was stare at each other, predator and prey. Unfortunately I was the prey. Seconds later, the animal leaped at me with a savage cry. I didn't catch much of the animal except curved cat ears, a long tail and ginger colored fur. I paid little attention to this as I dived away, falling hard on my chest and having the wind knocked from my lungs. I fought to catch my breath as I heard the cat give an angry screech and a splash as it hit the water. This brought me back to myself and I pulled myself quickly to my feet and darted into the woods, back the way I had came. I did not stop or look back, that would just give the angry beast a chance to catch up to me.

I dashed as quickly as I could through the woods back towards the camp, and behind me I could hear the heavy breathing and angry growls of the cat. We both made so much noise tearing through the brush, and I feared that at any moment another demon would come out of no where and would steal me away to use me as its own prey. My fears were realized as a hand reached out and closed on my arm and I was pulled to a stop. I instantly opened my mouth and screamed at the top of my voice for Chiyo, Kiyo. I even yelled for Kaioshi. Anything was better than being EATEN.

"Hush Hiei-Chan!" Came the terse response, and I almost didn't hear the voice over my screaming. But then realization hit me and I gave a cry of delight. It was Chiyo!! I felt safe and secure as I threw myself against her, my slight height only bringing my face to bury against her stomach as she fought to stop my fears. "Hiei-Chan? What's -" She never even finished her statement for, before she could, she had shoved me away. I stumbled with a cry of confusion and landed heavily on my bottom, spinning to look at her. Fear clenched my heart at the sight before me. Chiyo had shoved me away only to try and attempt to save me from the fate she now faced. The large cat had knocked her down and already scratches had appeared on her soft skin, trying to wear her down so she could get its teeth around her neck and kill her. She was doing a great job at holding it off, hands fisting the fur of its neck, and keeping the large cat from reaching her own throat. I couldn't help the small cry that left my throat, and I watched with large, horrified eyes as Chiyos strength slowly fled her. "Hiei run!" She snapped, but I just couldn't stop myself from watching.

As I sat there, I watched the chance of having the mother I had always wanted stolen right out of my grasp.Within moments, the dream of having the mother that I had wanted ever since I was tossed from my island home, was taken and destroyed before my very eyes. I watched her die. I watched that bastard cat close its jaws tightly about her throat, its nail digging into the soft flesh of her stomach. There were so many things I wanted to call that stupid cat, but nothing was mean enough. There would never be anything bad enough to call that cat. A soft sob left my lips as I watched the light leave her eyes, and I wished for nothing more than to be held tightly in her arms again. The cry that left my lips had caught the attention of the cat, and it turned on me with evil, laughing hazel eyes. I wanted so badly to see the stupid being killed. I shrunk away though, my entire being filled with mourning as the cat gave a soft hiss of delight and it turned to face me, stepping forwards to take my life now. Forever those eyes would haunt me. Ugly hazel eyes that would stand out in my mind for all of eternity.

If I lived long enough that was. Before the thing had a chance to make an attack on my defenseless form however, Kiyo dived from the bushes, aiming a sharp stab at the animal. He missed though, the cat must have heard him for it dodged out of the way, giving a loud hiss of anger at having its feast stolen and disappeared into the woods, being swallowed up by the night. Sheathing his sword, Kiyo stood and I could see the anger that was plain on his face. I was begging that the anger wasn't at me, but it was. I knew it was. It was MY fault Chiyo had been killed. If only I hadn't gotten up. He was going to send me back to stay with Kaioshi I knew it. This thought freightened me now. I know I had yelled for Kaioshi to help me earlier, but that was before when I was faced with death. Now I wished for that death to come to me rather then to have to face my entire life under Kaioshi.

"I...I'm sorry Kiyo." My voice shook with the fear that I felt, and the pain. I wanted so badly to say something, anything, else. But I couldn't. I couldn't say ANYTHING else other then the words I had spoken just mere seconds ago. I hated myself. Hated myself for leaving, and for calling for Chiyo. For yelling for her in fear and /begging/ her to come to my safety. If only I hadn't acted so childish, then she would be alive still. I clenched my small fists and my eyes squeezed shut as I fought back tears of anger, bitter tears that were caused from the cruel, unfair world.

"She's dead, so is my child." His voice was neutral, but his fists were clenched so tightly that the knuckles were white and they shook with his rage.

I dropped my gaze, staring at the ground because I was no longer able to stare at him. The tears stung my eyes, but I still fought as hard as I could to stop the tears that itched to squeeze from my closed eyes. I had NO reason as to why I should be crying. It wasn't MY wife and child that had been killed. Then again...it was my would be mother. It was my would be family. But not anymore. I couldn't hold it anymore. My fist came up, and I rubbed at my eyes quickly, brushing the tears from my eyes before they could crystalize into tears. I didn't want Kiyo to know that I was crying. "Hiei?" The voice sounded confused, and I felt my heart drop because he knew I was starting to cry. I couldn't meet his gaze though, and I sensed the other male turning to face me his hand reaching out gently to touch my shoulder and then to cup my chin, trying to turn my face up to meet his own. I pulled my face away, unable to look at him. I still scrubbed at my eyes with the long sleeve of his shirt, begging myself to keep it together for a few more seconds.

He seemed to fully understand that I was crying and slowly he pulled me into a gentle hug, and everything seemed to just explode out of me. My face was buried against his shoulder, and my arms wound themselves about his neck likes bars of steel. He held onto me, uncertainly, allowing me to cry as I needed, and for a long time the only sound around us was the soft pattering of my tear gems crystalizing and falling, rolling off of his shirt to land on the hard ground beneath us. This sound almost overpowered his soft whisperings which were his attempt at soothing me. I knew fully that he had no idea how to deal with what I was presenting him, but I couldn't stop.

"Ssh...It'll all be alright, Hiei." He repeated the whispered mantra lamely, knowing that it wouldn't calm me at all. It wouldn't make me feel any better, both of us knew it, and yet...I took heart in his words, and after a while I finally stopped sobbing. Tear gems still fell from my eyes slowly, but they were just the remains of that which I hadn't fully cried out.

"A...are you going to make me go back with Kaioshi?" I whispered quietly, knowing that he had probably already decided to send me off with Kaioshi as soon as we got back to camp. He probably hated me and wanted nothing to do with me now, not after I showed him how weak I was. Pulling away from his comforting gaze, I settled a watery stare on him and found him to look fairly stunned.

He then gave a soft laugh, and I turned my gaze back to the ground which was littered with my black tear gems which seemed to glitter in the silver rays of the moon. I knew it had been stupid of me to ask him that. "Is that what you had been worried about?" He questioned softly and I nodded me head. "I have no wife nor do I have a child." Glancing up at him I saw a stern, angry look on his face and I felt the stab of guilt flare painfully in my chest. "But...the last thing Chiyo had asked of me was for you to stay with us...I promised her that we would see to it that you no longer have to live such a life, and I will keep that promise to her." I looked up at him suddenly, not daring to believe my good fortune.

"However...you can only stay with me on one condition..." This caused my hopeful look to change into one of curosity. "You have to try and help me out." When he saw my confusion he smiled and said, "I've never had a son before, I don't know how good of a dad I'll be. Can you stand that?" I nodded my head, grinning bright as I finally understood what he was asking. My arms were once more thrown around him as I celebrated that I was, indeed, going to have the family I had always wanted. It would be a broken family, with only a father, but it was a family none-the-less and that was more then I'd ever had.

After this point, things went smoothly in my life for quite a while.The leaders didn't care very much who looked after a half breed like me, as long as I was out of the way, and as long as Kiyo still went on the heists when he was needed. I was quickly taught how to make food, and was very proud of myself when Kiyo complimented me saying it was nearly as good as Chiyos own cooking. Kiyo's rank in the heirachy was quite important and so bothered with him or even me! All I had to do was tell Kiyo and he would just pull rank over them and send them scurrying. It was amazing to know that I was almost untouchable.

Kaioshi still tended to give me a hard time, and out of habit I feared him regardless of Kiyo's rank above him. I learned, fairly quickly, how to avoid him. The attitude of the others had changed much since I had been taken under Kiyo's guidance. In the theiving world everyone had a rank. Leaders were at the top and everyone showed them the utmost respect. Next came the fighters. These were the ones that protected the rest of us. Followed by them were the actual theives. Cunning men who moved as silently as night. Kiyo was one of these, and he often used his tricks to scare me, always teasingly of course. Next up came the hunters. These men were the ones who went out and found food for the others. They not only hunted but brought back wood, water, herbs and other plants. Below them came all the other men in the order of how often their abilites were used. Kaioshi was one of the lowest men here. Next came all of the women, and finally any slaves. The Children, if boys, took the same rank as their father, while a girl would join with the other women. No matter what, a child had to show respect towards all of the men, but a boy would win over anyone in a rank below their father if they were to complain. Having been adopted by Kiyo my rank was changed from that of Kaioshi's to that of Kiyo's which was quite a drastic change.

Although the men who are ranked below Kiyo don't have to use respect for me like they would for Kiyo, they still have to treat me better. This was something that, although it was new, I quickly grew accostomed to. Most of the men would go out of their way to be kinder to me then ever before. Sometimes, if I strayed upon them on a good day, they would give me a small piece of sweet candy or a slice of dried meat, sometimes fish. All of these were incredibly rare. Candy, for us, was almost non-existant and the dried meat was never given away. Meat, in the Makai, tended to become sweeter when it was dried. It was the spices and stuff that was added to it or something like that. I don't know the reason really, never paid a lot of attention to them when they explained about it. The meat was commonly used as a treat for children and such. Not only that, but fish wasn't found in the Makai. It was smuggled, by demons and some humans, into the world from the human world. As a result, it was very expensive. To think that they would give it to ME was surprising.

However the thing that I loved the most was that Kiyo decided that I was much to old to be fleeing in the face of danger. He decided that I had to learn to protect myself now. He trained me in the act of fighting, and I took to it as I had nothing else ever before. I would keep Kiyo practicing with me hour after hour, never tiring. Only hunger would bring us back home. Kiyo loved having a pupil who hungered so fully to learn to fight, and he rose to the occasion of teaching me brillantly. Upon reaching the house, I would make the two of us a small dinner (I was being taught by the women to cook, since Kiyo couldn't. Imagine! A grown man who couldn't cook!) We would spend a little while relaxing and later, normally around dusk, Kiyo would have to leave and go on a heist. I would wait outfront , practicing with a piece of word which, in my mind, was the sharpest blade ever to be crafted. After a few hours of this, I would toss the wood away and go along with the women to meet the men who had left on the heist. If the heist wasn't successful, we would just return home and I would heat up the food I had made for Kiyo earlier and I'd wait silently while he ate his fill. Then I would crawl over and cuddle into the warmth of the only fatherly figure I'd ever known and he'd explain the heist in detail (He ALWAYS managed to get into some sort of perilous danger which made for great stores) or he'd tell me some other story and then we'd turn into bed. He only had one, but unlike when I had stayed with Kaioshi, I had grown to love and trust Kiyo. He always made me feel safe, always would protect me.

When the heists were successful, everything was differant. There was a huge party of sorts with dancing for the older adults and food. After a few hours of this, around dawn, I would be nearly asleep, and Kiyo would take me home and we'd settle into bed to sleep rather late into the morning which was quite unusual.

When we trained, he would always take me out far from the others and we'd practice in a small clearing. Sometimes we would train with sticks as our weapons, othertimes he taught me how to fight hand-to-hand combat or how to fight when I was weaponless. Kiyo never went easy on me, taking every oppurtunity I gave to smack me with the stick. I was rewarded several times with a bruise to the side of my head or knuckles or arms. He was never brutal in practices, he just sought to teach me how to keep my guard up.

Of all the training that we did though, the most frustrating was the training I went through to learn how to control my power. I was a rather high level demon, even without my powers, but to not know how to control my fire was giving my opponents a huge handicap, and some would be a hard enough fight with all of my strength. It was almost as if there was a switch, a control, that sometimes I just couldn't flick no matter how hard I concentrated. It frustrated me so fully, but Kiyo was always patient with me, and before long I could control my fire as if I'd been doing it for years. Many years after I had begun my training, actually only about one and a half which felt SO much long, I was given something that made all of my frustrations and sore muscles worth it.

It was roughly around the time of my birthday, and a huge party was going to be held for the occasion. A party. Can you imagine my excitement? Kiyo had worked hard to convince the leaders to allow it, but he had eventually succeeded. This was my first party. Ever. Kaioshi had simply beat me even worse for my birthdays, as if to make me wish I hadn't ever been born. Needless to say, it had worked. I grew to hate my birthday. Until now.

Parties in the Makai were like...days off. No one was allowed to work all day. Of course, the leaders were the only exception for if no one had kept an eye over all of the demons, total chaos would ensue. The entire day, even for the leaders, was filled with sport, sparring and eating. The three things demons do best, as they say. Kiyo would sometimes let me use his sword if I wished to spar with another adult. No one ever got hurt in these. If they found an opening, they would only press the sword against the flesh and give a grin along with a teasing remark. Then they'd step back and, allowing the other demon to keep his pride, would continue the spar. Or they'd both agree it had been a nice spar and either leave to pursue another sport or find another partner. I lost the spars way more than I won, and the few that I won I was sure the men had allowed me to win. But I was happy regarless of the reason for my winning.

The most exciting part, however, was the knowledge that Kiyo had an important present for me. The only time a party was ever given was when the child whose birthday was being celebrated would recieve a present of great importance. Presents such as these were given before the entire gathering. It was not a bragging factor, it simply meant the father had something quite important and..momentus to give the child. Comments from the women of "You're going to love Kiyo-Sans present." teased me all day long, and I was dying to know what it was.

Finally the time came and I was called forwards to take a seat before the others. I had never really liked being in front of everyone it made me feel kind of uncomfortable, but this was forgotten in my excitement. After the leaders had everyone quiet, Kiyo stepped forward with a long, thin black box clutched in his hands. I watched it eagerly as Kiyo began to tell the others how my training had come along. A few other men stepped forward and I recognized them as sword fighters who had worked to teach me as well. They all had completely diferant styles from Kiyo's and I had gotten quite used to fighting with all of them. All of them nodded their heads in agreement to Kiyo's already spoken words, and I felt myself bubble with pride.

After this was done, Kiyo stepped forwards and presented me with the box. "Open it." He said it as he laid the slim box across my lap, and I needed no more prompting as I quickly set into opening the box. A stunned gasp left my lips and the lid of the box dropped from my hands. I was dimly aware of Kiyo smiling somewhere out there. A sword, the most beautiful I had ever seen, was nestled in a silk bedding and beside it rested a holder that would strap on around my waist. The sword was slightly smaller then Kiyos own and rather plain compared to his gem encrusted one, but to me there was no better one.

I quickly set the box down besides me, pulling the sword free and standing and brandishing it for a moment. Before thoughts of fighting and other silly dreams could reach me, I was reminded of my manners as Kiyo stepped forwards. "You can't play with it, Hiei. It is a real sword -" He never got to finish for I had set the item down and had hurried over to him, enclosing my arms as tightly around him as they would go while saying my "thank yous" as a mantra into his chest. He smiled lightly before he laughed and returned my hug. "You're welcome, Hiei. But you must not play with it. It is a real sword, and it was fairly expensive. Please don't break it, and you must take good care of it." He warned me, his tone unusually firm for the smile on his face.

I swore to him that I would and instantly hurried off, strapping the sheath to my waist and gently slid the sword into it proudly. It was a little long, but not so much that it would be very awkward to carry. Though even if it had been I can't say it would have made much differance. At this point, it was announced that the food was done and everyone fled away to get their helping. Kiyo had yelled to me that he would get mine while he was up and that I should just stay there.

I sat back crosslegged on the ground and drew out my sword, still drooling over it. Before long a shadow fell over me, and the words "Nice sword, Hiei." Made my blood freeze. I tensed upon hearing the words, and I'm quite certain I probably paled a few shades as well as I saw the icy gray eyes of Kaioshi. He wore a smile, though somehow he made it look wrong, and I felt myself shudder and goosebumps flecked over my skin.

"What do you want?" I managed to demand not even showing him my fear. I was quite proud of myself if I do admit.

"Aww...come on, Hiei! You should be thanking me." He said, a teasing note in his voice. "I made you a man."

"Leave me alone, Kaioshi." I told him with a glare.

"I don't think so Hiei." The other stated, his demeanor suddenly changing. "I want to see how much of a fighter you've actually become. You don't have to accept my challenge, but if you don't it would not only reflect badly on you, but on Kiyo as well." A lie, but I didn't know of this. "Here are the rules. We fight all out..." He paused and smirked almost victoriously. "To the death."

I instantly thought about saying "no" but then I thought about Kiyo. I didn't want to let him down, and I had no idea that I wouldn't, and that none of the men actually would look down on him or myself for refusing to fight Kaioshi. I was still young, and they truly wouldn't care that much if I would back down or not. I ended up nodding my head, agreeing to an all out duel. "I don't want to let Kiyo down." I said simply as the reasoning for my actions as I stood.

Kaioshi smirked slightly before he gave a nod, as if agreeing with me. "To the death." He repeated softly, savoring the words as he stepped away."Draw your weapon, Hiei." He stated simply as he pulled his own weapons free. He used a sort of sword, I never learned the name, but the blade was curved and thinner, though broader across the flat. It was good for causing a lot of painful damage. The wounds inflicted by the curved sword was a hard one to heal. His blades were shorter then my own, and so I just had to keep him an arms length away, but he had two so I really had to watch out.

I was scared though, and my hands were shaking as I reached for my sword. I did not draw it yet, instead I crouched and waited for Kaioshi to make the first move. I'd dodge if I needed to and if not then I would draw my sword. I thought it was a pretty good plan, personally. The attack came suddenly, and I just barely unsheathed my sword and got it up in time. Perhaps it hadn't been the best of plans. He hacked away at my sword, knowing that he would be able to weaken my defenses quite quickly with two swords compared to only my one. I could feel my arms shaking each time he struck, and it actually hurt fairly badly.

By now people were returning but no one stepped in to stop Kaioshi and I was actually glad. There was no shame in turning down a fight, though I'd been tricked here, but there was a lot of shame if someone else stepped in to take your fight, someone unconcerned with you. Every second that I lated, I felt a little bit better and I'd begun to focus more on Kaioshi's movements then on my fear. This could be when I get Kaioshi back for his years of hurting me. I noted Kiyo watching from a few feet away, worry written on his face. He didn't need it though, because he and the others had taught me well. Kaioshi was rather skilled, but he was nothing compared to Kiyo or the other swordmasters.

If I could only find a way to get away for a few seconds just so that I could get a breath and to, perhaps, rest my arms even if only for a second. Then I figured out exactly what I would do. Focusing inside, as well as on the fight, I found the "switch" that would let me use my fire. It took less time then I expected, and before I knew it, fire flared to life between us, bruning at his hands but simply warming my own.

Giving a cry, Kaioshi released his weapons, pulling his finger closer to him. They were bright red from burns. There was a clatter as the weapons landed at my feet, but Kaioshi was to concerned with his fingers to notice this. I snatched them up quickly and tossed them away, so that he could not use tham against me. Raising my sword once more, I moved forwards slowly, watching him intently. You could never tell if your opponent had something planned or had another weapon. He must not have because by the time he looked up I could have attacked him and this got me quite thrilled.

Before I could think, I shot forwards going in for the last attack. And then...a smirk landed on his face and I realized my mistake. He dodged the simple attack of my sword, and got a hard punch in on me. Right into my stomach, it was like hitting a brick wall. I gave a cry, for half a second freezing but that was enough for Kaioshi to knock the weapon out of my hand. We were back on an equal playing field, and I was in trouble.

Kaioshi came at my twice as hard now, and I could only dive away from him. He was furious at me for coming so close to embarrassing him publicly. I knew, as well as he did, that I would never be able to take him on in hand-to-hand combat. At one point, while I was backpeddling, my heel caught on something and I fell to the ground. I was at Kaioshi's mercy, and we had agreed that this fight would be to the death. However, instead of getting a weapon, he decided to go the much more painful route. When I began to roll away, trying to roll out of Kaioshis way and to my feet, Kaioshi swung his foot out right into the tender flesh of my stomach. I fought as much as I could to get away, but it only meant that Kaioshi could kick at me more. Only when it felt as if I would be sick did I stop moving. When I stopped fighting, Kaioshi snatched a tight hold in my hair and turned my head to look at him as he kneeled besides me, feeling several strands of my hair parting company with my scalp. "You give up yet?" He asked, voice quiet so only my ears would hear.

I never did get to answer because at about this point, Kiyo stepped forward and set a look on Kaioshi that could freeze the deepest pits of hell. "That's enough, Kaioshi. He's only a child." He growled out.

"We agreed on a fight to the death. Even if he is a child he should know what that includes." He snorted. "I have every right to kill him." He smirked.

Kiyo glared at him at this, but then he smirked. "Fine. But as his parent I have the right to step forwards and fight for him. If you win, you can kill the both of us...But if I win, I can kill you." He smirked and there was a hopeful gleam in his eyes as he said that. "Of course, if you leave him be now, I will let you walk away with your life."

It was no secret that Kiyo could probably easily defeat Kaioshi. A murmur rose up from the demons around us as they discussed this. Kaioshi now had a choice. Either risk humilation by turning down the challenge or face Kiyo and end up dying. He released his hold on me, glaring daggers at Kiyo and I scrambled away to watch as the male picked up his two blades and disappeared.

Kiyo watched him leave just to be sure the man did not attack as a coward from behind. Once he was truly gone, Kiyo grabbed my forgotten sword and marched over to me with a look that told me I was really in trouble. Grabbing my hand he pulled me to my feet. "Go home." He growled and I knew better than to argue. Though I wanted badly to respond to the words he had said, this was my party, I couldn't just leave! The crowd parted slightly for us as I walked back towards our home with Kiyo standing over me, my own private prosecutor.

Finally reaching the house, Kiyo indicated to me that I better sit down, and I did so looking up at him. I opened my mouth, about to begin and explain my side of the story but Kiyo beat me to it. "Don't even start an excuse, Hiei. I told you not to play with it. What were you thinking to agree to such terms?" He paused for half a second, not actually long enough for me to tell him why I had agreed. "Damn it, Hiei! I thought you were mature enough for this sort of a responsibility. You have disgusted me, I thought you had better judgement then that. When you are mature enough for this, I will try again. Now give everything to me." He snarled in a fit of rage. The words cut me deeply, and I felt angry with him.

How unfair he was being! The only reason I had even fought Kaioshi was because I didn't want it to reflect badly on Kiyo. Now I was just getting yelled at and treated like a baby? That wasn't fair at all. I threw the stupid sheath at im, and in a rush of anger, I spat that it wasn't fair and that I hated him. I then stomped right out of the house, right off into the woods. I walked quickly, and I seemed to be leaving my anger behind me.

By the time I reached the clearing I was looking for, I wasn't angry anymore at all. Just upset and hurt because he hadn't even tried to understand my thoughts, he had just yelled at me. There was a small outcropping over the lake right in the very center of the clearing and this was where I sat. My legs dangled over the edge and I waited for Kiyo to catch up to me. I could already feel him coming along quickly. One of my lessons had been to learn how to register ki signatures and figure out who it was. I knew Kiyo's now as well as my own, so it was simple to tell he was coming close. I expected him to start yelling at me again, and so I began to prepare myself for it. As I did so, I pulled my legs to my chest and rested my chin on my knees sulkily. This wasn't fair, Kiyo should be thanking me because I hadn't ruined his reputation.

Since I was expecting Kiyo, I didn't start when I heard the bushes rustling and someone approaching. I didn't look at Kiyo as he sat down besides me. For a while he didn't say anything, just sat with me looking at the water. "This was where we used to train most of the time." The statement meant nothing to either of us, but Kiyo was trying to start the conversation with something that wouldn't start a fight or get either of us angry. I only gave him a nod, not wanting to make this easy on him at all. HE was the wrong one. HE was the one who was being unfair. I was justified in hating him for being so unfair. "Why'd you come here?" He asked curiously.

This prompted me to give him an actual response, although it was simply a shurg and a response of "I don't know." I then added on quietly, "I just liked it here I guess." I spoke uncertainly, as if afraid he'd tease me for it.

Kiyo nodded his head shortly, rolling up the legs of his pants so that he could set his feet in the cool water. I watched him for a moment as he did so, but my attention was quickly drawn to his face as he began speaking again. "I always felt the same way about this place. I grew up around here, I'm lucky we always come by for a while." He said and I nodded my head quietly in agreement. We sat silent for a few moments, Kiyo watching his toes wiggling in the cool water, and me staring out across the water at some far off fancy. "I'm sorry, Hiei." He said with a sigh, causing me to turn to gaze at him once more. "I know it wasn't fair of me to yell at you like I did, but it just scared me so badly when I saw you fighting Kaioshi. Then to find that you had agreed on a death match." He stopped and shook his head sadly but didn't say anything for a while, though I sensed that he had more to say. "I had no right to yell at you as I did though, and I apologize."

I remained quiet for a moment before I said, "And I didn't mean what I said, Kiyo." I assured, feeling bad for it now.

He laughed lightly and fondly patted my head. "I know, Hiei. I've said the same thing to my parents as well."

I returned the smile before I shoved his hand off of my head, away from my hair, with a playful grin. Kiyo returned the grin and,using the food in the water, splashed me. I gave a squeal of laughter and surprise before I tackled him. We rolled away, romping with one another, just fooling around. Eventually he pinned me beneath him, and I fought to escape his grasp while he tickled me madly, causing me to laugh and making me squirm for escape even more.

Suddenly, though, everything seemed to change. Darkness seemed to settle on everything, and there was a shadow on Kiyo's face as his gaze turned serious. I felt a chill run down my spin and goosebumps appeared on my skin as I glanced up, catching sight of the sun disappearing behind a few clouds. I was caught by Kiyos voice whispering. "Run. Now." In a feverish whisper that I simply couldn't follow. Something bad was going to happen, and I simply longed to be near Kiyo who I was sure would protect me at all costs.

Kiyo stood still, frowning and slowly approaching the woods from the way that we had come. Before he could get much closer then about a hundred feet, a harsh cry left his lips and he collapsed to the ground, one of Kaioshi's sword sticking like a column out of his chest.

I tried to run to him, tried to go and save him but I couldn't. I couldn't move at all it seemed. All of a sudden I heard laughter, deep terrifying laughter that chilled me to my marrow and Kaioshi stepped into view. I managed to yell angrily at him for hurting Kiyo. Not hurting him, he had killed him I realized as I once more watched the blood of someone I cared for wetting the ground in deep pools.

"No, Hiei. YOU killed him. Everyone you cared for has died and its all your fault. Kiyo, Chiyo and even your parents." He gave a truly sick grin of amusement, and I could tell he was enjoying my torment far to greatly. "Its all your fault... You're just a disgusting half breed."

Those last six words seemed to echo in my mind, sounding familiar as if I had heard them before somewhere, as all of a sudden I started falling.

To Be Continued...

There you go!

Oh, at the very end of this chapter (so you guys don't think you've missed something) Hiei is referring to his subconscious memory hearing Seikei say the same thing to him in the last chapter, but he doesn't really remember who has said it. Strange twist, I know.

Remember R&R please! It makes me a happy author and the more reviews I get the faster Chappy five will be up.


	6. A Cause for Celebration

Hey everyone! It's Rakki-Gesakusha again! And Chapter five is _finally _up! Isn't that great? Tell me about it. I'm sorry to say this but, from here, I have so many ideas as to what is going to happen next that...I just don't know what I'm going to do. So please be patient.

**Warnings**;; See first chapters.

**Thanks**;; Thank you to all of my faithful reviewers and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

Alright...I think that is all done so onto the story...

**_Chapter 5- A Cause For Celebration  
By;; Rakki-Gesakusha_**

Falling. Twisting out of control. I couldn't see, couldn't breath. When I opened my mouth, the darkness flooded it liked water and I drowned. I couldn't cry out, couldn't speak. Only fall. I fell freely, my arms flailing in a sad attempt to stop the rushing I felt. I searched blindly for something that would stop my falling, but my fingers found nothing. It felt as if I fell forever, rushing past moments already long gone. Things went in no order, and I saw only fleeting images and heard snatches of sentences.

Yukina saying "...My brother..."

Kuramas slightly scolding tone saying "Hiei..."

Yusuke laughing and giving that goofy grin of his as he spoke of Kurama, one of the times he had told me how he truly felt for the red head.

Then I heard my mother saying "My baby..."

"He is an abomination!" Those bastard women.

Koenma telling me that I had to work with the Detective team or face jail, Shigure giving me my Jagan. Kiyo giving me my sword, Chiyo telling me she wanted to be my mother, Kaioshi beating me the first time, and Seikei hurting me with those words. The last thing I heard was the annoyed voice of Kuwabara calling me "Shrimp." The word kept repeating itself, the only sound as I fell.

Finally I landed, the rush of wind in my ears died away and I lay there, trying to figure out what had happened. I felt heavy and cold, like I'd never be happy again. My entire body felt like it was made of ice. I laid there, surrounded by darkness and lost in my memories. I only realized now that I was shivering, teeth knocking and I curled tightly in on myself, trying to inspire some warmth into my frozen body. I've never felt so cold in my entire life. Everything felt cold and heavy, the darkness feeling like it was going to crush me beneath its weight.

Slowly warmth began to seep into me, and although the darkness never left, it didn't feel like it was crushing me anymore. I was being cradled in the warmth, and I felt better, as if I wasn't alone. The warmth and comfort seeped into every fiber of my body, and I felt lighter. I heard speaking now, soft speaking, whispers that brushed against my ears and teased me with the knowledge that I wasn't alone anymore. I almost didn't want to open my eyes, afraid that if I did I would be alone again.

"Hiei..." The voice faded, and I couldn't hear what it said. It came back a little stronger this time. "Wake up Hiei."

Why should I wake up?! He'd go away if I woke up. They always left when they got to know me, and this person, whoever he was, made me feel...great. I felt safe and secure. Besides, my throat hurt from drowning. My throat was raw and it felt horrible from drowning in the darkness. "Open your eyes." The voice returned, more insistent this time.

Finally I opened my eyes, snapped them open suddenly. Bright light, thats all I saw, burning my eyes. I managed to lift an arm and shield my face lightly, narrowing my gaze to protect it while trying to peer into the bright light. The outline of a person was there, watching me with intent eyes. The figure, stepping from the light, stole my breath from my lungs and I just stared at her, mouth hanging open and eventually the pale lips formed a smile. "Hiei." The words were whispered quietly. Icy blue eyes stared at me, a smile reflected in them, as she moved closer reaching forwards to touch my cheek gently, kneeling down before me. Before me stood the one person I'd never expected to see again, Hina... My mother.

"Why are you here?" The woman continued, brushing long blue hair over her shoulder at this. I simply watched her and finally the woman smiled. "Its so nice to see you, my son. You've grown up into such a beautiful man." She said, chuckling at the embarrassment in my features."You are to young to be here with me though." She said, her features darkening slightly.

"I have no reason to stay in the human world." I responded somewhat coldly, tilting my head up slightly to regard her stubbornly. "Besides...I want to stay with you now."

"Aww, my little baby." She chuckled and, just like Yukina, she enveloped me in a tight hug that I simply couldn't pull away from. "But you have come to early, you are not supposed to be here yet." She then frowned slightly. "You have Yukina to care for, do you not? She is your sister."

"She is with someone though, she doesn't need me." I muttered, turning my head away.

"Honestly! You are her brother, Hiei, she will always need you no matter what." She then paused before she added, a glint in her eye. "What about that human boy I was watching you with?" She questioned, a knowing smile on her face.

I snorted. "He's a human, hardly worth my--"

I was cut off by the woman glaring icily at me. "Don't you dare! You, more then anyone else, should know better. You believe, just like the women of our homeland, that because he is not like you that you are better then him?" I suddenly looked down, shamed by hearing my thoughts put in such a strange, but true, manner.

"I...I didn't mean it like that. But I suppose that is the truth, though not really. I am not worth it." I muttered, the truth of my feelings unable to be hidden from my mother.

"Oh, my son. If this is the results of that demon you met...he did not care for you." She pressed her hands to my face, tilting my head up and holding it there so she could look me in the eye. "Don't you _ever_ let anyone tell you that your not worth anything, especially someone who doesn't care about you." She brushed my hair back from my face. "That human must care for you, Hiei. He has been the one taking care of you, and I am sure that it was not because he pitied you or is trying to hurt you. I am certain he truly cares about you, even if he isn't sure how much yet.Trust him, Hiei." She said gently, but I turned my eyes away from her. Why did she not understand?

"He is not the only one mom. Everyone else has felt the same--"

"Everyone?" Hina demanded, once more cutting off my words. "You have all of those friends of yours. What of Kurama? He has been your friend for so long, and Yusuke and all of them?" She paused for a moment before, stepping from the light, three more figures appeared that quite literally made my heart stop. "What about Chiyo and Kiyo, Hiei?" She questioned quietly.

The two of them stood before me, smiling as well but, cradled in Chiyos arms, was a child that I didn't recognize. Atleast...not for a few seconds, but then I remembered that Chiyo had been pregnant when she was killed. Awe filled me as I stared upon the adopted family that I was seeing for the first time in years, so many years.

Chiyo was the first one to move, setting the child down and instantly wrapping me in a tight hug which I quickly returned, and Kiyo soon added himself into. I, not knowing what to say, left them to start the conversation.

At first no words were needed, but it was my mother who finally started the conversation. "Everyone has felt the same Hiei?" She questioned quietly. "Did you truly forget about them?" She questioned quietly.

I looked up at the faces, all so happy to see me before I shook my head slowly. "I didn't forget but...it is so long since I've seen any of them and..." My voice fading to let her fill in the blank but, like any mother, she would lead me with clues to the correct answer, but I had to get there myself. Her blue eyes held mine gently, urging me to continue. "Its been so long. Kurama and Yusuke no longer care for me, Yukina is expecting her first child with her mate and--"

"Again, Hiei, that human cares for you." This time it was Chiyo who spoke up, still holding onto me tightly, one hand brushing through my hair lovingly. "A true care, he would fight for you, I am sure."

Embarrassment flooded me and I couldn't speak, nor could I meet their gazes. They were right, and I knew it, but I didn't want to admit it. "Go back, Hiei. Take care of your sister and trust the human boy. Live a long life with your friends. Don't rush to join us, we will always be here waiting for you." Looking up to them, I nodded my head to Kiyos words. Each one of the women leaned forwards to place a kiss on my forehead and Kiyo simply gave me a hug. Then I closed my eyes.

_-------------End of Hiei's POV. Third Person POV now.------------_

_12:15. _It was to late. They only had until 12:00 at night, fifteen minutes to late. Hiei was gone. Sadness was the dominant feeling in the room, clinging to everyone and everything like a thick cloud. Tears flooded many eyes in the room, and Yukina was the only one openly crying. Instantly Kurama tossed an arm comfortingly around the girls shoulder, leading her from the room, whispering gentle words to her. The others filed out of the room, Kuwabara the only one, watching Hiei with a stunned expression on his face. "Was I not good enough?" He whispered quietly, one hand reaching out to touch a pale, cold cheek. "I tried so hard. I wanted so badly for you to come back." Hiei was his last chance, he felt as if he had lost a whole lot more then just a friend. Standing up, shoulders bent slightly as he shuffled from the room, the orange haired male was unusually quite and closed off to the world.

Something though...a soft breath, or perhaps a groan, dragged on Kuwabaras ears and he spun, most hopefully, to face Hiei. The little demons fingers twitched slightly, as if looking for something that was no longer there, and he was shivering once more. Kuwabara, more afraid of what was happening, instantly went back to his side. He had started shivering a while ago, but then stopped suddenly. It was the same now, except worse. Kuwabara gathered him close once more, speaking his name hopefully. This time his pleads were responded too.

One hand, that was all it took, reaching up to clutch at his hand rather weakly was all Kuwabara needed, calls falling from his lips for the others to hurry up and get in here. Apparently it was all Hiei needed too, for ever so slowly red eyes cracked open watching the blue ones intently. He laid for a moment, allowing the thoughts of the last seven days force their way, somewhat painfully, into his mind. It was Yukina whom he saw that finally broke his silence as he quickly sat up, remembering the words his mind had recorded of Yusuke telling his sister they were related. "You know?" It was the only words he could manage to form. He ignored Kuwabaras warnings that he shouldn't sit up, because he wasn't well as he waited for Yukinas response.

Confusion flashed upon Yukina's face for a breif moment before she nodded her head and, in a wounded tone, she questioned "Why didn't you want to tell me this?' She questioned. Kurama had told him over and over that not telling Yukina sooner would only make things worse. Damn that stupid know-it-all fox for being right yet again. He hated it when the fox was right. Hiei paused for a moment, trying to think of a quick response that would explain his stupid mistake. But before he could think of his real reason, of which he had none by the way, Yukina spoke up with her own beliefs. Head bowed, the woman asked "Were you embarrassed because I'm not like you? Or is it because of what the elders did? Not all of them were like that, you know." She insisted. She had always believed her brother would be happy to finally find her, and she had always thought of Hiei as a brotherly figure. Hell, she had half hoped that her brother would be like Hiei even. Apparently the gesture wasn't returned.

Hiei's eyes, so much like his sistres, widened and his hand reached for his sisters soft, delicate one. "No, Yukina. I was so certain that you'd be disgusted or disgraced by having me as a sibling. I know I should have told you sooner." Turning his head away he muttered a quiet "I'm sorry."

It was hardly needed for Yukina had lunged forwards and enveloped him in a tight hug. Hiei looked startled before he awkwardly returned the hug, patting her on the back. "I'd always hoped that my brother would be like you, Hiei." She said into his chest.

This made an unexplainable peace settle inside of Hiei as Yukina removed her hold and favored him with a bright smile. He didn't return it really but Yukina didn't seem to mind. The others had watched on in silent happiness as the two twins were united once more. However the sweet moment was ruined by Kuwabaras voice. "I don't mean to ruin the moment, but I have to remind all of you that Hiei is still recovering, and he needs to rest. Besides its fairly late." He nodded at the clock which showed 12:30 now.

Now that it had been mentioned, Hiei was fairly tired. He nodded lightly and all of the others rose, Hiei moving back to settle comfortably against the bed as Kuwabara showed the others out of the house. Hiei settled back in the bed, and shut the light out assuming that Kuwabara would be going to his own room. Imagine his surprise when a sliver of light fell across the bed bringing Hiei back to reality, he had already began to slip off to sleep. Sitting up and seeing Kuwabara standing in the doorway, Hiei quickly sat up and flicked the light on, looking over to him. It was then that he realized that he had assumed that he was here because Kuwabara had offered, maybe the others just hadn't wanted him there. Kurama and Yusuke not wanting to have to take care of them, Yukina thinking he wasn't happy with their relationship left only Kuwabara to take care of him. That explained things.

Hiei pushed the blankets off of him and then he realized yet another thing amiss. He was wearing a long white short sleeved shirt that practically drowned him, and a pair of loose sweat pants. Looking to Kuwabara he frowned. Where are my clothes?"' He questioned the other male.

"I got rid of them. They were bloody and way to old." Kuwabara stated rather matter-of-factly.

Hiei felt his confusion picking at him. How was he supposed to leave then? "Well...how am I supposed to leave then without clothes?"

Kuwabara looked startled at this and he frowned at him. "You can't leave. You need to relax and heal still."

Hiei looked at him eyes narrowing slightly, though it wasn't in anger. "Do you want me to stay here?" He questioned, needing to clarify it. "I coud go and stay with Yukina now-"

"No, stay here." Kuwabara said, shaking his head to cut him off. "I want you to stay, I'll go and get you some clothes tomorrow if you want."

Hiei's eyes narrowed once more, nose wrinkling as well. "Human clothes?" He asked, disgust evident in his tone.

Kuwabara nodded his head and, seeing the look of disgust on Hiei's face, Kuwabara laughed lightly. "We'll worry about that tomorrow." He stepped over towards Hiei and gently placed his hand on Hiei's shoulder and turned him to face the bed. Hiei followed the unspoken words and climbed into bed but Kuwabara grabbed the blankets. "Lay back." The orange-haired male ordered, Hiei following the orders as he relaxed back against the pillows and allowed Kuwabara to pull the blankets up to his neck. "You're welcome to stay here, Hiei." Kuwabaras eyes caught Hiei's, which looked stunned at such kindess, and he had a great yearning to give him a kiss. "Even after you're better." With that said, he stood up and flicked off the light on the table and left the room before he would act on the impulse.

With Kuwabara closing the door, Hiei was left in silence. He had now to consider if he would take Kazuma up on his offer. He didn't know if he would, but he actually kind of wanted to. This was what he drifted off to sleep considering.

-x-x-x-x- The Next Day -x-x-x-x-

Hiei had woken up rather late, feeling quite comfortable, it was about 11:30. Sitting up he remained silent for a moment, listening, before he slid out of bed. _Kuwabara must still be asleep, _Hiei mused. When he entered the kitchen this belief was corrected for, sitting upon the other males table,there was a short note adressed to him.

_Hiei,_

_I left to get you clothes, its still rather early so I shouldn't be gone long. Probably only about an hour. If I am gone longer then that, there is a ton of food for you to eat. Feel free to to watch T.V. or whatever you want. My sister knows you're staying here, and she shouldn't bother you. She's working anyway so I don't think you'll have to worry about it._

_Kuwabara_

All of this had been discovered nearly three hours ago. By now Hiei had practically worn a hole into Kuwabara's floor from pacing. He had attempted to relax, watch T.V. and eat as the other said he should but to no avail. After an hour he had only begun to miss Kuwabara's company, though he wasn't very worried. After two hours he had been starting to worry, but not that badly. But now...nearly three hours later, he was quite nervous now, worried that something had happened to the other.

Relief flooded him as he heard the young mans voice humming some human song very offkey, and the jingling of keys as the boy worked to get the door opened. Hiei quickly made his way over towards the door, feeling quite anxious. When Kazuma finally made it into the room he was greeted by an incredibly cute looking, worried little han-koorime. The boys hair was still quite messy from sleep, even more so then normal, and his shoulders were bared to the world thanks to the large shirt he wore. Red eyes were clouded with worry, and it made the teen feel quite good that the worry was directed towards him.

Placing three large bags on the table he turned to face the ebony haired boy. "Hey, sorry I took so long. I saw Yusuke and Kurama there. When I told them I was looking for clothes for you they insisted that they help." He smiled weakly and looked to the short demon. However Hiei didn't even say anything, just began to go through the bags. Kuwabara took his wrists gently and stopped him, Hiei glancing up to him before looking away. "Hiei, I said I was sorry." Hiei turned his head back to regard him once more, remaining silent.

After a few moments of the tense staring contest Kuwabara released Hiei and turned away to start going through the nearest bag while Hiei dug through another. Between the two of them they quickly cleared out the bag and Kuwabara, snatching the third away before Hiei could peek into it, grinned. "This one isn't for you." He said simply, though it only heightened Hiei's curosity.

"What is it?" He asked, but Kazuma just laughed and shook his head. While Kuwabara went to put the bag in his room, Hiei continued to look through the clothes.

There were a lot of plain black clothing in there, hoodies and pants, some nicer then others, but Hiei soon stumbled upon a few other colors. Blue, red, whites. He didn't mind wearing them in a small moderation, his blue short sleeved shirt and the white bandana, but other then that no.

"What do you think?" He heard from the other. As the human boy turned, Hiei spun to face him one of the offending colored articles in each hand. Kazuma had been expecting just a reaction and he sighed. "Hiei, everyone is so sick of seeing you always dressed in black." He said flatly. "Just try the other colors, if you don't like them I'll let you wear only the black clothes I bought." Hiei, feeling as if he should atleast try them since Kuwabara had bought them for him, nodded his head slowly in agreement.

He gathered a pair of black slacks, a light blue shirt and a dark black hoodie from the pile of clothing that was strewn across one end of the table. It was as close to his original clothing as possible. With his choice in clothing selected, he disappeared into the bathroom to change.

When he had returned, Kuwabara was working on making them a quick lunch. "Kurama and Yusuke invited us over for dinner. You are going to go, right?" He questioned, Hiei turning to look at him curiously.

"What is it for?"

Kuwabara glanced over to him for a breif moment before he turned back to the food. "Nothing big, just for everyone to have dinner." He explained, shrugging. Though there was a mischevious grin growing on his face right about now.

Kuwabara could see the curosity that his grin spurred in Hiei and it only made him grin all the more. Eventually Hiei nodded his head in agreement that he'd go and Kuwabara said, "Good Yukina and Kurama were working hard, I guess, to get everything ready. I'm sure they'd be upset if you didn't come." He could see the slight disbelief on Hiei's face but didn't call him on it. Hiei'd learn about it later. He turned back to the stove, adding a few noodles and spices to the already cooking food.

Hiei watched him curiously for a moment before he questioned. "What are you making?"

"Ramen. I know its simple, but you don't mind it right?" He he questioned, glancing up at Hiei. Kurama had told him though that Ramen was a fairly safe route. Apparently Hiei enjoyed ramen and that he often had trouble whenever he tried to get Hiei to eat much of anything else.

Hiei simply shook his head in response. "Its fine." He responded shortly.

With this stated Kuwabara gave a nod. "Can you hand me two bowls?" He didn't even have to look at Hiei to know that the han-koorime didn't know at all where to look. "They are in the cupboard right next to the sink. On the right side." Now that he knew where to look, Hiei quickly retrieved the bowls. "Oh, grab two cups too please Hiei. They are right next to the bowls." He said.

Hiei got the four required items and set them on the table. "What do you want to drink?" Kuwabara asked, glancing over to Hiei which was good because the demon simply shrugged in response.

"I'm not really that thirsty." Hiei added in response.

Kuwabara nodded his head lightly, not bothering to actually pay to much attention to Hiei's words as he finished up his ramen and brought the pot over to the table to pour some of it into each bowl.

Seeing that Hiei was waiting for him to sit down, Kuwabara motioned for the small demon to take a seat at one of the bowls while he placed the pot back on the stove. Taking a seat he glanced over to Hiei who was watching him quietly. He noted that Hiei hadn't bothered to even pick up his fork yet. A slight frown tugged at his features as he asked, "Aren't you hungry?" He reached forwards to grab his own utensil and started to dig in, rather hungrily, to his food.

He was surprised as Hiei silently started eating now. Hiei glanced at him, noting the surprise, and a small smile tugged at his lips. "Kurama's lessons." He explained simply. "They are kind of a habit now." He added. Kurama had taught him all kinds of things humans did called "manners" and Hiei clearly understood now whenever Yusuke had complained about having to eat out or at Keiko's parents house. The list of things one could do to insult their hosts was alarming!

Kazuma just nodded his head lightly in understanding before he returned to his food. The two ate silently for a while, both content to share each others company in silence. Only for the first bowl atleast, then Kuwabara cleared his throat as he sat down with a second bowl of ramen. Hiei silently glanced up to him curiously, already half way done with his second helping. "Uh...well Hiei I wanted to ask you..." Kuwabara paused to look at Hiei who was simply watching him curiously. "I wanted to ask if you had thought anymore about what I said yesterday?"

Hiei was silent for a moment, not sure exactly what Kuwabara was talking about but only for a short moment. He remembered now, Kuwabara telling him he could stay here if he wanted to...even after he was all healed. Hiei looked up to Kuwabara who looked rather anxious for his answer. He wanted a response instantly but deep down he knew Hiei wouldn't give one. He had so much to consider. Looking down to his bowl of food, Hiei swirled the ramen around with his fork, watching the result intently as if he would find his answer in the broth. His brows were drawn thoughtfully as he focused, not on the food of course, but on his thoughts. He was honestly considering. He _wanted _to but SHOULD he? That was the question.

Kuwabara waited with baited breath, wanting to know so badly, but not wanting to pressure Hiei into a decision. If he agreed on his own, then it was one step closer to what Kazuma wanted. In the mean time he tried to continue eating while keeping an anxious look on Hiei.

Finally, after what seemed to long for Kuwabara and not long enough for Hiei, the small demon looked up to Kazuma. "I suppose I will stay, atleast for a little while." It beat staying in a tree or something like that.

Kuwabara felt as if he could dance for joy but instead he only smiled. "Thats good. You can stay in the same room if you want to." He offered and Hiei nodded his head lightly. Kuwabara caught his gaze, smiling slightly. Hiei's gaze looked somewhat uncertain but Kuwabara didn't have long to ponder that for Hiei soon turned his gaze back to his food and continued eating, leaving Kuwabara with no choice but to do the same.

For the rest of their lunch neither one spoke, each lost in their own thoughts. When he finished eating his fill Hiei looked up at Kuwabara saying. "I am finished." He didn't know what Kuwabara wanted him to do with it, Kurama always just had him leave it at the table.

"Put it over there." Kuwabara said, indicating the sink as he stood himself. "You can help me wash them really fast." He said lightly. Hiei stared at him in confusion and Kuwabara chuckled lightly at him. "Just dry the dishes off." He explained and Hiei nodded his head lightly. Standing up he put his bowl into the sink while Kuwabara started filling it up with hot water. Taking the dish towel the human gave him he waited while the other finished filling up the sink, adding the soap. Once this was all done the other boy started washing up the dishes silently, rinsing them off as well before he handed them over to Hiei, who dried them off and piled them on the table not sure where most of it went. They worked through most of the dishes in silence until, near the end, Kuwabara gave a devious little smirk and splashed Hiei in the face with some of the water.

Hiei sent him a glare before he demanded "What the hell was that for?" Kuwabara laughed even more and splashed him a few more times, wanting to get him to play along. Eventually, getting annoyed, Hiei returned Kuwabaras splashing. Kuwabara, grinning in triumph, allowed Hiei to splash him. Before they knew it both of them were fairly wet, bangs sticking to their foreheads.

Still releasing a few chuckles Kuwabara plopped down to the floor saying, "Alright, alright I give up Hiei." Hiei nodded his head lightly plopping down next to him.

"Of course you give up." He snorted. "This just proves demons are better, yet again." Kuwabara glanced over to Hiei at this, surprised he would bring something stupid like that up when they were having a good time. Hiei glanced to him, and Kuwabara was stunned to see him actually smiling. Then realization hit him. Hiei was _joking. _Hiei had actually started joking with him. The stunned look on Kuwabaras face only fueled Hiei's amusement and he started openly laughing. Kuwabara had to admit he was proud that he had caused that sound. Hieis laughter was almost infective and before he knew it, Kuwabara had started laughing too.

By the time it had died down both were in a very good mood and Kuwabara, glancing to Hiei, took heart in the fact that the other seemed happier then he had ever seen him before. He also noticed, somewhere back in the back of his mind, that Hiei had a drop of water on his face. It was perched precariously right on the tip of Hiei's nose, and without thinking about it he reached his hand up to brush it away. Hiei's gaze dropped though as Kuwabaras fingers trailed away to brush against his cheek as well, amazed by the soft skin. Hiei glanced up to him, looking very embarrassed and quite shy as the others fingers continued to brush against his cheek. Kuwabara leaned forward, pausing for a moment in slight hesitation, his fingers gently holding Hieis chin, keeping him in place. He was so close to being there, he could feel Hieis warm breath ghosting against his own lips everytime he breathed, and then suddenly there was a loud knocking on the door and Yusukes voice was heard calling for Kuwabara. Both boys jumped and Kuwabara turned his head away for a breif moment. He felt Hiei pull himself free of Kuwabaras hold and he scowled when the small demon stood up. Damnit why did Yusuke have to have such rotten timing?

Hiei called something to Kuwabara over his shoulder, whatever it was though Kuwabara didn't catch it, as Yusuke and Kurama came in. Yusuke ruffled Hiei's hair as they passed one another, gaining a glare from the short demon. Hiei settled himself on the couch in the other room, turning his attention to some silly human show. Kuwabara, meanwhile, pulled himself to his feet and Yusuke frowned slightly before he asked, "What happened? You look wet and Hiei did too."

"I was doing the dishes." Kuwabara said distractedly, watching the exit that Hiei had taken as if expecting Hiei to suddenly reappear in the doorway.

Suddenly Yusuke's face appeared unusually close to Kuwabaras face, blocking his view and giving him a knowing grin. "Oh really...?" He retorted snickering.

"We were!" Kuwabara insisted. "But then we started flicking each other with water and...then I WAS going to kiss him but it was _your _fault I didn't. You interrupted." He sent a glare at Yusuke who just laughed even more.

"You'll have a ton of chances tonight, chill out." Yusuke responded in an attempt to calm the other. "Next time I'll make sure not to bother you two." He promised.

"Speaking of later on, you didn't tell Hiei, right? It'll ruin everything." Kurama asked him.

Kuwabara shook his head in response to Kuramas words. "Nope, he thinks you invited him over for dinner."

Kurama nodded a short good before he then turned away and began to head towards the door. "Remember...try to be there after 4. No earlier otherwise we might not have it finished." He said in a low voice, as they had been using the entire time, as he headed from the room to sit down besides Hiei in the other room. It was slow going, of course, but eventually Kurama convinced Hiei to turn off the TV and to talk to him, although it was a whispered conversation so neither one of the human boys could catch what was said. However they caught sight of a rather excited looking Kurama and a flustered looking Hiei but that was all they got from whatever conversation that they were having.

"What do you s'pose they are talking about?" Yusuke questioned curiously, peeking out the doorway at his boyfriend before he took a seat at Kuwabara's table.

Kuwabara shrugged absentmindedly as he took a seat across from Yusuke, resting his elbow on the table and his chin on his palm he sighed looking to Yusuke. "Urameshi...how'd you ask Kurama out?" He questioned raising his blue eyes to Yusuke's brown.

All he recieved though was a shrug. "I just asked." Yusuke responded quietly. "Everything just...happened. I never really planned it. It was just right." He explained.

"But it's felt "right" a lot, and everytime I try something messes it up." Kuwabara complained with a sulking tone in his voice.

"Then it must not have actually been right." Yusuke stated matter-of-factly after a short pause. Hearing Kuwabaras sigh he reached across to slap a hand on Kuwabara's shoulder. "Come on! You'll have the perfect chance tonight."

Kuwabara sighed, glancing out into the other room before he sighed and nodded his head. "I hope so." The conversation then changed over to the talk of the upcoming get-together.

Kurama slowly approached Yusuke, leaning over and speaking something into Yusuke's ear before he said, "Come on Yusuke, it's about time to get going."

Yusuke, nodding his agreement, soon standing and turned to Kuwabara. "Well we have to get home to get everything ready, we'll see you two later." He gave the other human teen a grin before the two left. Kuwabara watched them leave, feeling a bitter spot deep down at the happiness his two friends had felt and hoping, really hoping, that things would work out as good between himself and Hiei.

They had little more to do but to wait until they had to leave for the party. The time seemed to pass fairly quickly, both boys deciding to shower up and change into nicer clothing, though it took Kuwabara about a million tries before he finally decided on an outfit he liked.

They were already fifteen minutes late, and they still had yet to leave the house. Kuwabara had decided that, only a few seconds ago, he wanted to wear something else. Hiei wasn't to bothered that they were fairly late. He could, and would, just blaim Kuwabara later anyway. As if on cue with that thought Kuwabara appeared in a new outfit. This one a nice button-downed shirt that looked as if it was a soft silky sort of shirt and a pair of nice matching pants.

Smiling almost uncertainly at Hiei, Kuwabara asked "Ready to go?" Hiei gave a short nod, also muttering something along the lines of 'I've been ready for over twenty minutes.' As Kuwabara pulled on his shoes Hiei noticed that he held the bag that he had put away earlier in his room. He was extremely curious as to what it held but he didn't ask. Actually neither one spoke anything the entire way there, neither one knowing what to say.

-x-x-x-x- At the Get Together -x-x-x-x-

When Hiei pushed the door open the sight that greeted him stunned him.

All of his friends were there, gathered in the front room, Yukina and Kurama among them. A sign hung in the back of the group with bright letters spelling out on it that it was nice to have him back. Hiei glanced back to Kuwabara, looking uncertain but Yukina stepped forwards quickly to take his hand and pulled him inside. "This is from all of us," she waved her hand in a sweeping motion that took in all of the guests. "This is our way of apologizing for not benig better friends." She smiled at Hiei's stunned look. "It was hard to get everything together in one night and to tell everyone, but we think it was worth it." She said, a bright smile on her face.

The others present nodded their agreement to Yukinas aforementioned words and Hiei turned to Kuwabara with a frown. "You knew about all of this?" He questioned suspiciously.

"Er...yeah. I stopped by earlier to help out, thats why I got home later then expected. It actually didn't take that long to find you clothes." Kuwabara smiled apologetically at him now.

Before Hiei had a chance to respond to the others words, Yukina released him and added, "We all have something for you, but we'll give it to you a little later." She said, Hiei nodding dumbly to busy with looking around the room.

The next hour seemed to pass quite quickly for Hiei who spent the entire time greeting those who had turned up. There were all of his good friends right down to those he hardly knew. After the greetings were through he was settled down into a chair by Yukina and Kurama. He felt so lost and, Kuwabara, truly believed he looked it.

People were giving him gifts and he truly had no idea why. He accepted them though, murmuring a quiet thanks as well to each person. Last of all came his four closest friends, Kurama and Yusuke, Yukina and Kuwabara last of all. Kurama and Yusuke had gotten him a handsome sheath for his sword, the plain black coloration distorted by the gems inlaid all along it. Yukina had gotten him a nice human outfit no doubt in the hopes that he would be remaining in the human world for a while. Even to his strict tastes it wasn't bad. A plain black pair of jeans, a plain black t-shirt much like his normal tanktop and a pair of sneakers instead of him running around in his boots, although he did like his boots just fine.

Last of all came Kuwabara's gift and this was the one that amazed Hiei the most. He didn't know how Kuwabara could even think of spending so much on him. It was a chinese outfit, like the ones Kurama wore quite often, but the pants were a deep black and had a satin-y feel to them. The main part of the outfit was also a deep black but every hem was sewn in bright red thread which took away a _lot_ of the darkness. Running across the chest seemed to be leaves dropping from his shoulder to land, diagonal from that shoulder, to his hip each leaf a differant shade of red. A pair of black shoes also complemented the outfit, though these were much thicker then the rest of it. The last detail of the outfit was a red sash that was made completely of silk. _Wow..._That was all Hiei could think as he ran his fingers over to soft sash, looking at it in wonder. How could Kuwabara ever expect him to wear this? He couldn't, it would get ruined.

Naturally Kuwabara, and all of the others, wanted Hiei to try it on that moment. Hiei hesitated for a few moments, worried about messing it up, but eventually agreed because of the begging of his friends. Kazuma instantly offered to help him get the outfit on and together they disappeared deeper into the house, Hiei holding the outfit carefully so he, nor Kazuma, stepped on it. Reaching the bedroom Hiei went in first, laying the entire outfit out on the bed first, so that he could change into the pants. Just as he had thought they were satin. With this done Hiei called out to Kuwabara who soon entered, his eyes trained firmly on the bed and trying to ignore the fact that Hiei was standing before him, half naked.

Picking up the outfit Kuwabara moved over towards Hiei and easily got the rest of the outfit on over his head. Kneeling down so he could reach Hiei's waist easier he snatched up the sash and began to tie it about Hiei's waist, unconsciously pulling him a littler closer each time he tried to pull the sash tighter. When it was finally all done Hiei allowed Kuwabara to straighten out the outfit, both remaining silent. When Kuwabara finished Hiei turned to inspect himself in the mirror, it was a full length one so that was nice, and he found that he did look rather good in the outfit.

"You look really good, Hiei." Kuwabara said and Hiei lifted his gaze to catch Kuwabaras in the mirror. For some reason Kuwbaras opinion seemed to matter greatly to him and, now that he had it, he was content. "You do like it...right?" Kuwabara questioned uncertainly and Hiei instantly nodded his head. "I probably should have taken into account your wards, huh?" He questioned, moving close behind Hiei in order to run his fingers gently against the bandage. Hiei held his breath as he felt Kuwabaras breath rustle against a few strands of his hair and then brush against his cheek. Again Hiei nodded his head, aware that the hand with which Kuwabara was using to play with his wards had reached his own hand and was currently holding onto it.

Hiei seemed acutely away of Kuwabara turning him, of the fact that they weren't very far apart, of the truth that he was holding his breath. Everything seemed...perfect...Kuwabara smiling at him, face not so far apart, atleast until the door opened and this time Kurama stood in the doorway. He looked extremely apologetic as he said, "I'm sorry...if I am interrupting I can leave for a few minutes." He said, knowing that he had already ruined the moment.

"No...its alright." Kuwabara responded simply, forcing himself to pull away and added, "It was nothing." He was extremely aware of Hiei turning accusing red eyes on him.

Kurama frowned slightly before he said "The food is done." He explained quietly. He glanced over to Hiei before he said, "That outfit looks very good on you." He took heart in the fact that Hiei actually looked at him. "Come on lets go and eat."

"It was nothing, huh?" Hiei asked quietly, his breath low, as he followed after the departing Kurama brushing hard past Kuwabara. With Hiei following after Kurama Kuwabara had no choice but to leave, sighing. He should have watched what he said more carefully. He was going to finish everything off though tonight, along with apologizing he was going to tell Hiei _everything_.

Dinner was loud and long, hundreds of conversations seemed to be going on at once, but Hiei remained rather quiet all through it eating silently. Everyone else seemed to be having a good time though, and the food was really good which was a definite plus. When dinner was over there was a short break and then dessert came. After a while of talking and eating the dessert each of the guests slowly stood and left. Yukina was the last to leave, kissing Hieis cheek and bidding them all a goodnight.

"So...what now?" Kuwabara questioned as they returned to the living room.

"We got movies." Kurama said as Yusuke flopped back on the couch. "Set one up, Yusuke and I'll get snacks." Yusuke complained loudly as he pulled himself from the comfortable couch. Atleast until Kurama gave him a look that he was all to familiar with. Now that Yusuke had started doing as Kurama had told him, the red head disappeared into the kitchen.

"You two can sit wherever you want, except the couch." Yusuke told the two so Hiei settled down on the loveseat and Kuwabara nearby in one of the chairs. At basically the same time Yusuke finished setting up one of the movies, Kurama returned with arms laden of liquor and chips. Each of them got some liquor and then settled down on their respective seats.

Once everyone had gotten their drinks or snacks and then settled down Yusuke started the movie. For a while everything was fine, but then Kuwabara stood and moved over to sit besides Hiei on the couch. "I can't see." He explained quietly to Hiei who looked to him sternly. For a few moments things were quiet before Kuwabara laid back some, against the arm of the chair and turned his attention to Hiei. After a moment he reached forwards and took Hiei's hand, saying quietly "Lay down with me." Hiei pulled his hand away and Kuwabara looked somewhat confused before he tried again.

"Leave me alone, Kuwabara." Hiei growled under his breath.

Yusuke, not caring to much if they were having an important conversation or not, scowled. "Quiet you two." He muttered and Hiei, sending him a glare, got up and headed outside. He really didn't care to be around the others now anyway, he just wanted to leave but even if he left, and went "home" he would have to be with Kuwabara.

He heard movement behind him and scowled. "What do you want?" He didn't even have to turn around to know it was Kuwabara who had followed him. "I told you to leave me alone." He growled.

Kuwabara came up, standing besides him, and held out another bottle of liquor to him, Hiei quietly taking it. "I wanted to finish talking."

"Hn. We were hardly talking." Hiei retorted.

Kuwabara looked over to him, frowning slightly. "What did I do wrong, Hiei?" He asked, wanting to know what he had done.

Hiei turned to face him, eyes narrowing " 'It was nothing.' " He responded simply, glaring at him.

At first Kuwabara didn't get it for a moment, before he frowned as he remembered. "Hiei I didn't mean it." He said shaking his head and Hiei gave his signature 'Hn' before he turned to look away from him. "Hiei...I didn't want Kurama to know what is going on between us." He had already told Kurama and Yusuke that he wanted to be with Hiei, but he didn't want Hiei to know that.

Hiei snorted quietly. "They already know, and you told him. Kurama told me that you did." He turned to him, eyes defensive. "He told me that I could trust you, and I did. It was apparently just another mistake." With this said, Hiei turned and was about to head back inside when Kuwabara grabbed his arm.

"Don't go Hiei." He said quietly. Hiei glared at him, and tried to yank his arm away but Kuwabara pulled him close and, doing what he'd been trying to do all day it felt, he placed a firm kiss on Hieis lips. The small demon was stunned by the act and had no chance to respond as Kuwabara released his arm and pulled him close. Hiei lifted his arms and placed them against Kuwabaras chest as if to push him away but instead he just fisted the material having waited to long for this to actually pull away.

Finally he managed to turn his head away, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Both remained motionless, Hiei's hands still fisted tightly into Kuwabaras shirt. After a moment Hiei asked quietly "What do you want from me?"

Kuwabara looked down to him, frowning thoughtfully before he said. "Whatever you will give." He looked at Hiei firmly and, when the other went to look away, he gently removed one of his hands from around Hiei to hold the demons chin in place. "I want whatever you will give to me, Hiei. I won't ask you to give me everything right away because I know you won't. I want what Yusuke and Kurama have together and all of that."

Hiei looked uncertain and Kuwabara could see it, but with the others hand holding tightly to his chin Hiei couldn't look away. "Kazuma..."

Hiei didn't know what to say to him. "Please Hiei, I want to try it." He said quietly. Hiei stared at him, and Kuwabara could see the fear in his eyes. "Hiei...please. I promise I will care for you and I would never hurt you." This was the last time he needed to beg because after a few seconds of thought Hiei slowly closed his eyes and moved his head from Kuwabaras hold.

"Ok." He agreed in a whisper and once more Kuwabaras lips landed on his own in a gentle kiss before he slowly pulled away. "Come on, lets go back inside." He said quietly, keeping one arm about _his_ Hiei, holding him close as they returned to the others to finish watching the movie.

TBC...

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Oh my. Its finished. And they are finally together! Yay! Five chapters and they have _finally_ gotten together! -cheers- Poor Kazuma, trying so many times, but finally he got his wish.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and...I don't really know where this is going, to be honest. I totally changed up the ending sooo...I hope its still good.

Please leave me a review and Chapter six might take a little longer then usual because I am not totally sure what is going to happen yet...I just know its not over. Sooo...please check back!


	7. Butterflies

Hey everyone! Guess who's back! Thats right. I've got a new chappy up. I hope all of you like it. I really do. This is a little bit...different then what I had originally wanted when I started it, but I think it turned out REALLY cute. Please send me a review telling me what you think.

**Note;; **If I get enough reviews, I am going to end up doing another chapter. A special chapter. For more info. check out the little...snippet after the story.

**Warnings;; **This story is yaoi. ie...men dating men. If you don't like it don't read. Other then that nothing really. A few small kisses, but this one is mostly fluff!

**Disclaimer;;** Don't own. I just take the characters and plot idea and use it for my own amusement.

**_Chapter 6 - Butterflies_  
By;; Rakki-Gesakusha**

Only a few weeks had passed since the two boys had agreed to try things out between the two of them. Kuwabara, wanting to reassure Hiei that he had made the right choice, had decided that a more human approach would be a good idea. He was picking Hiei up tonight at 7:30 to take him on his first date. The day, for Hiei, had been spent at Kurama's the two boys going over all of the basics to dating. Hiei'd never been on a date before so Kurama had agreed to help him out with a few things. Not only that, but with Hiei and Kuwabara living together it would have been hard for them both to get ready. In exchange Yusuke had gone over to Kuwabaras' to help the other human get his things in order. Kurama had spent the better part of the day going over everything that he thought Hiei would need to know. From the basics, such as holding hands or eating in public, to the proper technique of kissing and what was acceptable to do on the first date. To be honest, the things Kurama said about the first date sounded as if it was still too advanced. With only about twenty minutes or so left Hiei had been showered and changed into a nice outfit. Dressed in a silky button-up crimson red shirt and black slacks Hiei was really afraid that Kurama had overdressed him. Though Kurama had assured Hiei that he had not.

Hiei was extremely nervous and he wasn't used to feeling this way. He really didn't notice though, to busy with being nervous to notice much of anything. Kurama did notice though. It was easy to tell with the way Hiei was pacing the living room and how he would look up, almost anxiously, at any sound of a car door slamming or the steps of someone's foot. It was amusing to the red head without a doubt. After a few minutes of waiting, Hiei suddenly gave a complaint to Kurama that he thought he was coming down sick; there was a tingly feeling in his stomach. With much amusement evident Kurama passed the next few minutes explaining the annoying little things known as "butterflies" and how they'd appear in ones stomach when they got nervous. He could tell by the blank look on Hiei's face that this wasn't sinking in at all, but Kurama didn't try to reiterate the information.

The smaller demon couldn't help but to watch the clock as the next twenty minutes seemed to crawl by. Honestly! How damn long did it take? Any minute the human boy should get here, and Hiei thought he was going to die from the wait. Finally the door bell rang and Hiei looked like his heart was about to leap right out of his throat. Thankfully Kurama, standing up gracefully, moved towards the door murmuring a small 'I got it,' to the smaller demon. Pulling the door open he murmured a small hello to whoever was outside the door before he turned to Hiei. "It's for you." He said lightly.

Moving over to the door, Hiei took a deep breath to prepare himself for the next couple of hours. However he was ill-prepared for who was _really_ standing on the other side of the door. Sighing slightly he said. "Hello, Yukina." He was glad that Yukina was here, of course, but he just...he'd been hopeful that Kuwabara had gotten here and that the waiting was over.

Yukina seemed to understand Hiei's apparent unhappiness at seeing her and just smiled it off. "I'm so happy that you haven't left yet. I was sure that I was going to miss you." She said, while her eyes took in Hiei's form. Smiling her approval at his appearance she grinned brightly. "I am so glad I could be here to see this." She said, a girly little laugh escaping her.

After Yukina had finished squealing over Hiei's outfit and how excited she was, probably more so then Hiei himself, she settled down on the couch. Soon enough, just like Kurama, she amused herself by watching as Hiei once more took to pacing. By eight, half an hour after Kuwabara was supposed to arrive, Hiei sat down besides Yukina with a disappointed sigh, trying hard to look angry though he mostly felt hurt. "He's not going to come, is he?" It was a rhetorical question, but Kurama instantly crossed the distance between himself and Hiei and settled down on the side of Hiei that Yukina wasn't already occupying.

"Relax Hiei." Yukina said gently, placing her small hand gently upon Hiei's shoulder. "He'll get here."

"Yeah. Guys are always late. I don't know what we were thinking... Kuwabara's always late as it is, and Yusuke never shows up less then 45 minutes later then he was supposed to." Kurama said smiling in a reassuring way for his friend.

"Kurama's right. Don't worry. I'm sure he'll -" She was cut off by a knock on the front door and she smiled as Hiei instantly stood to his feet.

"I've got it, Hiei." Kurama said quietly, chuckling slightly at the others anxious response. Getting himself to his feet he crossed the room and opened the door. He then gave a gentle smile at the two boys that he found there.

"Hey, Kurama. Is Hiei ready?" It was Kuwabaras voice. Kurama gently nodded his head and ushered Kuwabara into the house. Hiei was instantly relieved because; although he was more dressed up then Kuwabara it wasn't that much. The other teen wore a pair of black jeans, a short sleeved shirt which showed off the human boys muscles and a light jacket. "Hey Hiei, sorry I'm late." Kazuma said lightly as he moved over.

"It's alright." Hiei responded as he took note that Kuwabara was holding onto a large thing of flowers. He couldn't help but to wonder if those were for him, even if he didn't particularly care for flowers. It would still be a nice thought.

Kuwabara stepped over in front of Yukina, smiling brightly for her and brandishing the flowers. "These are for you." Both of the twins looked stunned, as if they had been slapped. Had Kuwabara only set this up for another chance at Yukina? The two were instantly put at ease as Kuwabara saw the looks, chuckling slightly. "You two really are related." Pausing briefly he explained, "Whenever a guy picks up his date they sometimes bring flowers to someone's parents, normally the mother, as a thank you. So, because you and Hiei don't have any parents, I'm bringing you the flowers. For letting me take Hiei out." Finally understanding the idea behind the flowers Yukina murmured a bright thank you, even adding that the flowers were beautiful. Turning now to Hiei, Kazuma gave a bright smile. "Are you ready to get going?" Receiving a nod Kuwabara took Hiei's small hand into his own.

"Have fun you two!" Kurama called after them, both of the boys turning back to give him a wave of goodbye.

Walking in silence for a few minutes Kuwabara finally asked, "You're not mad at me, are you?"

Hiei glanced over to him curiously. "No, of course I'm not. Why would I be?"

"Well...I was late, and I brought Yukina something-"

Hiei cut him off with a snort. "Both of them told me that guys are always late, and you explained why you got Yukina something. Besides -"

This time it was Hiei who was cut off as Kuwabara pulled out a black rose and stuck it right in front of his face, just below his nose. "And...I figured you might have thought I had forgotten about you."

Hiei took the flower from him, smiling somewhat shyly. "Thank you, Kazuma." He added in a quiet voice.

Kuwabara simply nodded his head lightly moving over to brush his lips lightly against Hiei's own, feeling content with things at this moment. Pausing for a while the two remained silent before Kuwabara straightened up and said, "I've got a plan for us to go and see a movie. It's supposed to be scare, but I'm not to sure you'll find it scary. Then I was thinking we could just take a walk through town and I could show you around a little or we could find somewhere to eat." He offered lightly. He was telling Hiei just incase the demon wanted to change their plans. Since Hiei didn't offer any protest to these arrangements Kazuma reached for Hiei's free hand and together they walked silently in the direction of the theater.

Both of them were quite content to walk in silence, remaining with each other only through the contact of their hands. Both were reflecting on what they hoped this night would bring out for them, but neither one was putting their hopes to high. Kuwabara just was hoping it would bring them closer. True they were only a few weeks into the relationship and all but he was hoping it would be the beginning of where Hiei opened up to him. Hiei...he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted, there was a lot.

"So, Hiei, have you ever gone on a date before?" Kuwabara questioned, generally curious about the truth. After all, it was their first date together and Kazuma was just as nervous as Hiei, even though he'd already been on a few dates.

Hiei shook his head slowly, glancing to him in silence. "No, I haven't." He felt nervous now. Kurama had already disclosed to him, having heard from Yusuke, that Kuwabara had been on a bunch of dates already. That meant Kuwabara had a lot of experience as to what to do while he, Hiei, was just going on the advice Kurama had given him earlier today. What if he messed up really badly? A soft curse slipped from his lips, under his breath, as the butterflies returned in his stomach and made him feel queasy.

At hearing the curse from Hiei's lips Kuwabara instantly turned to look at him. "What is it, Hiei?" He asked, concerned.

"The butterflies are back." The small demon complained, a frown marring his lips. Kuwabara glanced around for a moment, searching for the butterflies that Hiei was talking about. Finding none he returned his gaze to Hiei, letting him see the confused look he held. Hiei, sighing in annoyance as if this was something Kuwabara should know, explained. "Kurama said that when someone gets nervous butterflies appear in their stomach." But then...if this was true...why didn't Kuwabara know about them?

Kuwabara couldn't help but to start laughing at this, understanding now. "What are you so nervous about?" He questioned once his laughter had died down.

Hiei scowled slightly as the other laughed at him, but other then that he showed no other signs of being bothered by it. "Because I've never been on one of these dates, and you've been on a lot." Hiei muttered, not liking how much of him was being shown in this conversation. "I have a feeling that I'm going to mess up." He added, his voice a grumble now, as if it was a great inconvenience to tell Kuwabara this.

"You won't mess up." He assured the small demon, falling silent for a brief moment before he added, "I'm afraid that I'm going to mess up, actually."

"Why are you nervous? You have done this a lot." Hiei pointed out, starting to think the other was just...humoring him.

"True, but I'm nervous that you won't have a good time." Hiei had to admit there was some credibility in that fear. Nodding his head in understanding of the human boy's fears, he felt a bit relieved to know that Kuwabara was nervous as well. Seeing that the small demon had seemed to relax he smiled at him. "Come on, if we don't get moving we might miss some of the movie." Taking Hiei's hand once more into his own,he led him to the movie theater.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The smell of stale popcorn hit Hiei like a tidal wave as they stepped into the movie theater. It was followed closely by the smell of people. His nose wrinkled slightly already not liking the place. It was loud on his sensitive ears, and the smells were just...horrible. There was the bitter, salty smell of popcorn mixed with the sweet scent of pop, and the more noticeable smell of sweat and perfume from the humans. "Wait here, Hiei. I'm going to go and get some snacks and stuff." He pulled away from Hiei before the other could utter his rebuttal. He hadn't wanted to be left alone among all of these humans and these strange smells.

Hiei remained in the corner of the room, his eyes tracking the movement of Kuwabara through the crowds of people littering the building.

Not many people paid attention to him, just curious glances that were merely the eyes passing over him. Relieved by this, Hiei was soon content to just await the return of his boyfriend, watching the humans in curiosity. He had never really seen so many of them in one spot. He didn't have very long to wait though as he soon spotted his human returning through the crowded room, holding a large bucket of strange looking yellow...things, an X-large pop (On which it proclaimed the latest box office hit), and a box of candy. "I didn't know if you liked popcorn or pop so I just got one for us to share." He told Hiei who just nodded his head. He had no idea what it was really, and not knowing himself if he liked it. Reaching forwards, he relieved Kuwabara of the drink, waiting for Kuwabara to stuff the candy into his coat pocket before he reached his hand out, taking Kuwabaras into his own. Kuwabara was surprised the other had made such a move in public, but he wasn't complaining.

They settled into their seats, placing the drink down into the holder while Kuwabara held onto the popcorn. Taking a few pieces of the popcorn Kuwabara glanced over to Hiei, holding some in font of Hiei's mouth. "You should try some."

The small demon looked at the pieces of popcorn held before his mouth before he plucked a small piece, eating it testingly. "Not bad." He agreed lightly. At right about this time, the lights in the theater dimmed and the movie began. The two boys instantly fell silence; the only movement for a while was the two boys eating pieces of the popcorn in silence, faces glued to the movie screen. Not too far into the movie, Kuwabara had finally gotten his guts up and shifted slipping an arm around Hiei's shoulders. Hiei glanced to him out of the corner of his eye before he paused thoughtfully, turning his head back to the movie. Kurama's voice suddenly appeared into his head, whispering a few words of advice. _If he puts an arm around you let him, humans like to show off to people who they are with... _Contemplating the words of wisdom for a moment Hiei decided to allow it, it wasn't like anyone could see them anyway. Then Kurama's voice popped into his head again, continuing on with his wisdom. _If you two are sitting still or something you should also lean into his hold. It's nice, and guys enjoy holding their dates in front of others..._ Hiei didn't know about this. He was hesitant for that. But he would allow the action the other had gone with so far. It wasn't THAT bad.

For the rest of the movie the two were quiet, both were munching on the popcorn, taking drinks of the pop as they needed to. After the movie was over Kuwabara pulled his arm from around Hiei's shoulder and stretched. Hiei had actually been a little upset about that, he had gotten comfortable with it. He didn't have long to dwell on it though. "What'd you think?" Kuwabara asked as he gathered the empty pop and almost empty popcorn bucket before he started towards the garbage and then the exit.

Hiei followed after him, frowning slightly. "It actually was alright." He murmured slowly, as if hesitant to admit it. "It wasn't scary though."

Smiling in relief Kuwabara looked over to him, "I'm glad you liked it." He spoke truthfully, really having been worried about it. As they passed the garbage he tossed everything out before he opened the door, allowing Hiei to leave before him. At first he couldn't stay close to Hiei because it was really crowded, but once people began to clear out he once more slid an arm around Hiei's shoulders which gave Hiei a rather thrilled feeling. It made him feel wanted. Kuwabara was showing everyone around that they were together.

Leaving the theater they headed towards the city, just walking together. They didn't have a destination in mind, but it seemed as if that was right for this date. They were just walking and each asking the other questions as they came along. They were keeping the questions basic, wanting to learn more about each other. It was a simple game. One question, back and forth. It was Kuwabaras turn now, and for a few seconds he was quiet, thinking. There was a question he had wanted to ask Hiei for a while, but he was hesitant to do so. It went way past their limit of "the basic things." This was a good opportunity to ask, and he might not get another shot. "Hiei...how come you never told me or Yukina that you were related to her?"

Hiei didn't respond for a long time, not sure if he actually wanted to give so much of himself away. It was a hard question. Taking a breath he slowly began. "When I was born, the ice maidens from my home...thought of me as an outcast. They hated me before I was even a full day old. Yukina had been accepted into a world where I wasn't, and never could be. She grew up with those women who hated me before I even had abilities. They simply hated me because I wasn't liked them. I figured that Yukina, too, would have converted to their beliefs." He paused for a moment before he continued. "I did not actually tell anyone but Koenma. I had to tell him, it was one of the requirements to keep me out of prison. But, like any secret, everyone else found out. Everyone thought we hated each other, and I threatened death to anyone who told Yukina."

Kuwabara nodded his head in understanding to Hiei's explanation. "But why --"

Hiei cut him off by shaking his head. "My turn." Kuwabara scowled slightly but nodded his acceptance. Frowning slightly Hiei slowly decided on a question to ask the teen. "...How come things between you and Yukina changed?" He finally asked.

Kuwabara glanced over to him for a moment before he shrugged slightly. "I'm not a demon. She tried to look past it, but in the end...I didn't mind really, me and Yukina just weren't supposed to be together." He said shrugging. Hiei didn't understand really, but he accepted it. "Why were you not accepted among your home?" Kuwabara asked quietly.

Hiei sighed quietly, not enjoying such deep questions. "The women of my home were isolated. They didn't accept any other demons. Every one hundred years they produce a child, always female, asexually. My mother was different. She snuck off the island and met a man. This man," Hiei didn't call him father.  
"Was a fire demon, which only made things worse. The Koorime and the fire demons have hated each other forever. When I was born they instantly hated me. I remember all of this even though I was a new born. They called me and 'abomination' and they said I was 'a curse upon us all.' I was just going to turn out evil." Hiei paused for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. He'd never openly told someone such truths about himself. He'd just had to tell Koenma he was a han-koorime and he understood. "I was only about 3 days old when they got rid of me. They wanted to kill me, but it didn't work. I can still remember my mom, yelling for me when they tried to get rid of me. She even told them that she would leave. That she would just take me and Yukina and just get off of the island, and never come back. They wouldn't let her." Hiei felt a strange feeling of relief, perhaps because he had told someone else. It was strange that he would give a part of himself, such a huge part, to Kuwabara so soon. Although he felt a sense of relief he also felt the depression and anger that always sunk into him when he thought about this.

As he spoke Kazumas arm tightened around Hiei's shoulder, wanting more then ever to protect him from whatever evils could possibly do him harm. "Wow...I'm sorry I brought that up." He said quietly, a note of apology in his voice and Hiei just shrugged slightly. Kuwabara made a note to not bring that up again. "It's your turn to ask a question."

Hiei nodded his head before he looked up to the other. "You said you have already gone on a lot of dates before but...have you ever dated a guy before me?" He asked curiously. He hoped not, it would take some of the pressure off of him. It would mean that, although Kuwabara had already dated a girl, he had no prior experience with a guy. Just like Hiei. Well...almost.

Unfortunately Hiei wasn't that lucky. "Yeah a couple of them actually." The human said lightly, as if he were trying to impress Hiei, though it wasn't really working that well if he was. "You haven't dated anyone before, right?" He had assumed not, considering Hiei'd never actually been asked out on a real date before.

"Actually I have too." Hiei said quietly, a small smile forming on his lips as he saw Kuwabaras jaw drop. "Kurama and I tried a while ago." Hiei said quietly, answering Kuwabaras unasked question. "We learned quickly that we weren't meant to be together."

Kuwabara still looked shocked. Not only had Hiei had a boyfriend before him but it was Kurama. Of all people it just HAD to be Kurama. Kuwabara instantly felt more pressure then ever to impress Hiei with their date. "Let's go to the beach, we're close by." He said suddenly, snatching up Hiei's hand and practically dragging him in the direction of the beach. His worried mind didn't even catch Hiei's demand as to why, of all places, he wanted to go to the beach.

Before they reached the large expanse of sand the two had to navigate themselves down an incredibly rocky slope. The rocks were huge; the only problem was that the spaces between them were just as large unfortunately. Kuwabara was constantly turning back to take Hiei's hand and help the small demon from rock to rock, even though Hiei would have been just fine getting down himself. Once they reached the sand Kuwabara sat down, removing his shoes and socks so that he could walk barefoot. "What are you doing?" Hiei questioned, brows furrowing slightly in confusion.

"It feels good, try it." Kazuma insisted and Hiei, looking very uncertain, kicked his boots off and stood uncertainly in the sand.

"It doesn't feel too bad." Hiei admitted, watching as the taller male stood up and held a hand out for Hiei to take. Once the short demon got a hold of Kazumas hand the two began a walk along the beach just walking and continuing their "game" from earlier.

"So...you said you had dated Kurama before me, right? Do you ever...miss being with him?" Kuwabara spoke uncertainly; the nervousness he was feeling was creeping through his voice.

Hiei shook his head almost instantly, "Kurama and I both understand that we were friends only, nothing more. We both mistook our feelings for something else." He said simply.

"So...it doesn't bother you that he's with Yusuke?" Kuwabara asked, wanting to be absolutely, positively sure that Hiei had no more feelings, at all, for Kurama.

"Yes, Kazuma. I was the one that talked Yusuke into telling Kurama." There was an exasperated tone in his voice, signaling to Kuwabara that Hiei's temper was running short with him, annoyed that he had to explain this so much.

"Are you sure you...-"

"I'm sure!" Hiei growled, yanking his hand from Kuwabaras in annoyance. He hadn't come out here just to have Kuwabara get on him about having been with Kurama. "It was a long time ago. He's a fox, he liked to play. He thought I would too. I didn't want to. We then left each other. I haven't thought of him since as anything more then a friend, and he hasn't thought of me as anything more." He said angrily, turning away from Kuwabara and heading to his shoes, snatching up the boots and getting ready to tug them on.

"I'm sorry Hiei!" Kuwabara said instantly, following after Hiei. He saw his chance at impressing Hiei fading quickly and he wanted to hold onto it. "It's just...Kurama seems like he'd be the perfect guy. I mean...it just seems surprising that you wouldn't be upset about Kurama and everything." He said, assuming Kurama had been the one to cut it off.

Hiei turned a face him, a frown marring his face. "Why is it hard to believe?" He demanded.

"Well Kurama is...he's just perfect." Kuwabara said, allowing his own annoyed feelings, and perhaps more his fears, to show through now. "He's smart, he's a demon just like you want, and he's really good looking. Plus I bet he's romantic." Kuwabara said flatly, settling cobalt eyes on Hiei's own red one for a moment before he turned them away. "He's perfect, for anyone."

"Just because he's a little bit more like a human in some aspects, that doesn't mean in everything." Hiei told Kuwabara coldly. Then seeing the true feelings behind the orange haired teen's accusations he continued in a much gentler voice. "He is a Youko. As I told you, they enjoy playing. I don't. I didn't want to move as quickly as he did. Youko's are not happy when they don't get what they want. In the end we both knew it wouldn't work." Hiei then paused for a moment before he added. "And, Kazuma, if your being a human really bothered me, I wouldn't be here right now."

Kuwabara lifted his gaze to Hiei's and he smiled slightly. So goofily, in fact, in his relief that it brought a small smile to Hiei's own lips. "Come here, Hiei." The other murmured, opening his arms for the other. There was only a slight hesitation before Hiei was in the others arms returning the others hug. Kuwabara was actually startled by the others forwardness to his hug.

/_This is not good...I'm really starting to like it here. /_ Hiei's mind whispered as he buried his face into Kuwabaras shoulder. /_I shouldn't like being held by him so much...but I do. This can't be happening..._/ The small demon was fighting paranoia as he allowed Kuwabara to pull him tighter, snuggling his face into the others hair.

"I love your hair Hiei..." Kuwabara whispered, his breath brushing against the strands of black. "It's so soft. Like fur."

Hiei's attention was dragged from the worry he felt as he looked up to the other, amusement on his features. "It is. That's why." He murmured lightly.

Kuwabaras eyes widened slightly, almost as if in awe, before he pulled back slightly, removing one arm from around Hiei to run his fingers through Hiei's hair. "Really?"

"Mm-hm." Hiei said lightly. "Run your hand the other way." He ordered. Kuwabara stopped his hand for a moment before he brought it down in the opposite direction and he watched in awe as Hiei's eye lids dropped half way and a soft growl left his lips. He did this for a few moments, before he stopped and for a moment the soft growling continued before Hiei looked up to him, as if to ask why he had stopped.

Kuwabara almost grinned. "That's so cool." He said happily, instantly running his fingers through Hiei's hair again, listening on in amusement as Hiei's growls began again. That explained it. He continued to brush his hands through Hiei's hair, listening in amusement to Hiei's growls of enjoyment. He then pulled his hand back and soon pulled him close. "I'm sorry, Hiei. For not believing you, I mean. But can you really blame me? Its not that I thought you were lying, I'm just worried that I won't be any good after Kurama." He sighed lightly, looking down to the other, a small frown covering his lips.

Hiei wanted to leave now, his senses told him too; he was getting himself in to deep. Things were getting much too personal. However a better part of his mind told him that things would be ten times worse if he left Kuwabara here. "How come you feel so threatened by Kurama?" He asked quietly. He couldn't understand the human mind in this concept. As a demon he had very simple logic for this. If you wanted to be with someone you were with them, and if he had wanted to be with Kurama he would be with him.

"He's your best friend, right?" A short moment occured where Hiei thought before the demon nodded his head. "So he knows things about you that I don't. He knows you better then I do." The human finished a frown on his lips.

Hiei was quiet for a few moments, just watching Kuwabara for a moment. The darkness was gathering quickly now but he could still make out the sight of Kuwabaras face not to far from his own. "Kazuma...that is true. He does know things about me that you don't. But I've been closer to him for longer. You already know things that he doesn't know. Things that he will _never_ know." Hiei said his voice quiet.

"What, Hiei? What do I know about you that Kurama doesn't know? That everyone doesn't already know?"

Hiei supposed he should have seen that coming. After telling Kuwabara why he hadn't told him the truth of his relation to his Yukina. He had been the only one, besides Yukina, not to know. "I told you myself what my past had held, did I not? Kurama knew of my relation to Yukina, but he knew very little more. All of which he had learned by snooping. You are the first person I told that to by choice."

This little bit of information caused a feeling of pride to swell in the others chest. He knew things that Kurama didn't know. That Kurama would probably never know. What else could he possibly learn of the apparently dangerous demon in his arms? Pulling the other close he had to admit that he had seen Hiei in a new light now. This was not the high strung, arrogant, evil little bastard he had thought. Looking down he watched with a strange feeling in his chest as the small demon turned his head, using Kuwabaras broad chest as a pillow almost. If one would have told him months ago he would be holding Hiei like this he would never have believed it. But...he better understood Hiei now. He was not evil. He had been hurt many times. The evil face he used with the rest of the world was a farce. He wondered what else could be hidden beneath the mask of cold, anger Hiei's face always wore. "I'm sorry Hiei, I should have believed you." He whispered content to just hold onto Hiei for now.

Meanwhile, Hiei's mind was beginning to rebel the comfort he felt. He had to get away from this. He was getting to close to the other. His mind reminded him of this and yet...he couldn't make himself pull away from the other. Not yet. No...It was warm. He was warm, comfortable...safe. For the first time he felt safe and he wouldn't trade that for anything. Turning his head up in the others direction, he watched the others face. The blue eyes were closed, and Hiei was happy for it gave him a chance to study the face. Slowly though, blue eyes slid open catching the red ones and Hiei felt his heart skip a beat at the happiness he found in them. /_Did _I_ do that? Is he happy because of...me?_ / Kuwabaras lips parted in a small smile, and Hiei felt the unused muscles of his own mouth parting in the unfamiliar shape. A true smile. He hadn't given one in years. Not a real one anyway. Not one from sheer happiness, and that was what he felt right now. Sheer, innocent happiness.

The smile disappeared for a moment, and watching the cobalt eyes take on a worry look and the mouth open to ask if he was alright, the red eyed being covered the teen's mouth with his own in an inexperienced kiss. One that Kuwabara almost instantly took control of, despite his surprise at being given one in the first place. As the kiss deepened Hiei couldn't help but to feel the butterflies return to his stomach and this time he didn't care.

/_They're back...and I don't even care. They're taking me away, and I don't seem to mind because...because I'm falling for him and I think...I think I want to..._/

xxxxx End of Chapter xxxxx

Wow! Can you believe that's the end of the chapter? I...don't really know where this came from. Well...for like...the 2nd chapter in a row, I had a different ending written out then the one I decided to use but...I think I like this one better.

I REALLY hope you do too. I am not sure if this is the end of the story or what. I want at least one more chapter. Perhaps...if I get a lot of reviews I'll add on a little side story, perhaps a sweet like sappy song-fic or something?

Who knows? Remember...read and review and if I think you deserve it (or if I just feel like continuing for one more chappy) I will give it to ya! Though...I might anyway because the reviews I've been getting so far have made me really, really happy and I think you all deserve it!

Love always,

Rakki-Gesakusha


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